The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has reported a 13% hike in rice exports between January and May this year when compared to the same period last year.
This was revealed by GRDB General Manager Nizam Hassan.
He said in a GRDB press release yesterday, “We’ve done 242,812 tons of export valued (US$99m) compared to 215,330 tons valued at (US$87m) for the corresponding period in 2019.
Hassan said that there has been a rise in the export of packaged rice, signalling a greater sale of value added products.
“With regards to Packaged Parboiled Rice we exported 3,705 tons in 2019 compared to 5535 tons in 2020 and with regards to Packaged White Rice, which has really shown an astronomical jump, it has moved from 6,316 tons in 2019 to 47,484 tons in 2020”, Hassan said.
The release said that according to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations “The improvement of extension services of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and the expansion of Public Agricultural Investments supported crop yields”.
The release said that it is expected that annual production will grow for the fourth consecutive year and reach 1.1 million tonnes, roughly 15% higher than the five-year average.
