Over 220,000 tonnes of rice has been exported so far for this year as the sector prepares for another historic first crop, which is currently at 359,000 tonnes.
The good news comes, however, in the wake of a disclosure on Thursday by the government that the PetroCaribe fund used to pay rice farmers has been depleted and concerns about the need to find new export markets.
Deputy General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Ricky Ramraj told Stabroek News that with 98 percent of the first crop harvest almost completed, export markets have to be found. He said Guyana signed a 35,000-tonne export deal with Italy and has also maintained ongoing negotiations within the region to concretise deals with Cuba and Haiti, which are historically the two largest rice importing countries in the Caribbean.
Ramraj said the amount of rice in the system after last year’s second crop was approximately 148,000 tonnes.