The rice miller who was responsible for shipping 20 containers of rice that were rejected by Panamanian authorities has since been ordered to stop supplying pending an investigation, head of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Nizam Hassan says.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday afternoon, Hassan confirmed that 20 containers that were sent by the miller were rejected after the Panamanian authorities discovered parboiled rice instead of white rice.
Hassan explained that more than a week ago, the GRDB received communication from one of its representatives in Panama about a shipment being flagged. As a result, investigations identified a miller who was then given the directive to stop packaging rice at night.
After more shipments were flagged, the miller was then instructed to stop using his facilities and then eventually ordered to stop shipments temporarily until the investigations are completed.
Hassan noted that this is the first time the GRDB has had a shipment of rice rejected from Panama and the situation is perplexing given that staff from the GRDB would have made their routine checks of the rice coupled with the fact that the miller is unable to offer any explanations.
The miller has since reportedly accepted responsibility for the mix-up and has also launched his own investigations.
Explaining the process, Hassan said the millers bag the rice at their facilities (although some who do not have bagging capacity would use other facilities), after which GRDB staff would do random sampling of the rice. After the samples are taken and tested, the miller is then given the go ahead to load the rice (approximately 2,700 bags) onto the container.
After that is done, the GRDB fumigates the container, closes it and adds a sticker with all the relevant information. Another sticker is then attached by the miller, who would then deal with the logistics to ensure that the rice is shipped properly to Panama.
“We don’t know whether it is an operational issue, whether it could have been a mistake, or whether it was deliberate. We don’t know if something happened with the bags that were placed,” Hassan said, while also adding that they are unsure of the amount of parboiled rice that would have been shipped instead of white rice. This, he explained, is because after the Panamanian authorities would’ve discovered the parboiled rice, they would have rejected the entire container.
When questioned about the consequences the miller would face if the GRDB investigations reveal that the parboiled rice was shipped deliberately, Hassan was unable to say. He explained that since it is an isolated incident and has never occurred before, a discussion of sanctions would have to be taken to the Board. However, he said it cannot allow such deliberate actions to be accommodated.
In order to rectify the problem, Hassan noted that the order will most likely be filled by another miller to fulfil the GRDB’s contractual obligations. He added that its staff will now be checking all the rice that is being prepared for shipment instead of conducting random sampling.
Hassan also sought to dispel rumours of the rejected rice being sent back from Trinidad before it reached Panama. He said this is not true and the GRDB does not have any reports of any similar incident.
