The Role of Standards in the Rice Industry

Our Rice Industry is of utmost importance because of the position it occupies both socially and economically in the lives of Guyanese. Rice forms the staple of most Guyanese diets and accounts for the direct or indirect employment of approximately 15,000 persons.

Economically, after sugar, rice is the second largest contributor to the Agriculture Gross Domestic Product of Guyana. Guyana, a member of Cariforum group of countries, is presently the largest paddy producer and one of the leading exporters of rice in the Region.

If Guyana is to maintain its share of the international market, the Rice Industry has to be effectively managed to ensure a consistently high quality and quantity of rice is produced and exported. In addition, rice is a food commodity and consumers’ health and safety are matters of concern. Also, with Guyana being a signatory to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements, products will have to comply with the rules and regulations of standards bodies under the auspices of the WTO.

The implementation and use of standards is very important and can be considered essential for addressing quality and other issues in the rice industry.

Some of the benefits to be derived from Standardisation are: the improved quality of goods and services manufactured; greater facilitation of trade nationally, regionally and internationally; greater industrial efficiency; the protection of consumers rights, the promotion of public and industrial welfare, health and safety, reliable and accurate weights and measures practices, promotion of a common understanding of the language of industry and the protection of the industry.

Presently, Guyana has adopted, and made mandatory the Caribbean Community Standard for rice. This standard: GYS 211: 2002 Rice-Specification, sampling, test and analysis”, prescribes the requirements for grades of paddy, cargo rice, milled rice, cargo parboiled rice and milled parboiled rice.

The agency regulating this standard is the Guyana Rice Development Board which routinely conducts checks at rice mills countrywide to ensure that they are complying with the requirements of the said standard.

Another national standard that has relevance to the Rice Industry is GYS 9-9:2000 – “Labelling of prepackaged foods”. This standard applies to the handling of all prepackaged foods to be offered for sale to the consumer or food used for catering purposes, and provides requirements regarding the proper labeling of rice bags and other packages.

There are also three additional National Standards that are available for use in the Rice Industry.

The first one is the Code of Practice for the production of rice, which specifies the safety and hygienic practices for use in processing, packaging, storage and transport of rice for human consumption in order to ensure a safe, sound and wholesome product.

There is also the Code of Practice for the cultivation of paddy, and the Code of Practice for the Production, Processing, Labelling and marketing of organically produced foods which have the relevant requirements for implementation by farmers and millers to improve the quality of rice yields.

The importance of standards cannot be over-emphasised. For a high quality end product, there must be standards for every stage along the production cycle as both the process and the product must comply with standards.
For further information call the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0065.

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