What had once been seen as the potential start of a new chapter in trade relations between Guyana and Cuba appears to have been soured by the Caribbean island’s protracted failure to liquidate amounts owing to a local miller for rice it purchased just over five years ago.
In 2017, local rice miller Nand Persaud and Company concluded an agreement with Cuban company Alimport, under which the Cuban government received approximately 7,000 tonnes of rice. In the wake of the signing of the agreement, Nand Persaud and Company reportedly received partial payment for the consignment leaving an outstanding balance of US$600,000.