A protracted outstanding multi-million dollar debt owing to Guyana by the Government of Panama for rice sold to the country through the local Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has now reached the level of the International Chamber in The Hague, according to Attorney General Anil Nandlall. The debt, which goes back to export contracts signed back in 2018 and 2019, remains outstanding despite efforts being made over those years to recover the amounts owed for rice delivered to that country.
While Guyana’s rice sector continues to make a noteworthy contribution to supporting food security in other countries, in both the region and the wider hemisphere, both the state-run Guyana Rice Board as well as local rice farmers have previously expressed dissatisfaction over the gaps between the delivery of rice cargoes to receiving countries and payments for those shipments. Some farmers, having encountered logistical difficulties in engaging overseas creditors, have looked to the government, through the GRDB, to help them have these debts settled.