GRDB records second highest local rice production ever
General Manager of the GRDB, Nizam Hassan
General Manager of the GRDB, Nizam Hassan

– Over 1M tonnes of paddy produced in 2019, highest-ever production for Region Six

THE Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has recorded the second highest local rice production ever, with over one million tonnes of paddy being produced in 2019.

According to a press statement from the Ministry of Agriculture, some 1,049,874 metric tonnes of paddy was produced in 2019, 8,254 tonnes short of the record 2015 production of 1,058,128 tonnes. The recorded productivity of the rice industry is contrary to what was said by sections of the media and prominent persons about the rice sector declining.
“2019 stands as the second highest rice-producing year to date,” said the ministry, adding that Guyana managed to produce a record amount of rice despite the plethora of challenges the industry faced throughout the year.

Among the challenges that the rice industry faced were “extremely unfavourable” weather conditions and some level of pest infestation.

“These challenges were taken head on by the GRDB, which spared no effort in ensuring that the extension and support services meted out to their rice farmers were superior,” said the agriculture ministry.

Not only was production in 2019 close to surpassing the 2015 national record, but production has increased 28 per cent since 2016. This is possible not only by the efforts extended by the GRDB, but also by the “hard work” of farmers.
Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) remained the highest producing region, harvesting 454,476 metric tonnes of paddy; this is equivalent to some 295,4009 metric tonnes of rice. The region recorded a 99 per cent harvesting rate.

The second top producing region was Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), which produced a total of 311,915 metric tonnes of paddy or 202,745 metric tonnes of rice equivalent. This production was the highest on record for Region Six, said the GRDB. According to the board, the region also produced some 4,910,444 bags of paddy, which was equated to a 25 per cent increase in paddy production for East Berbice-Corentyne.

Nationally, some 16,526,024 bags of paddy or 682,418 metric tonnes of rice was produced. 178,628 hectares were sown, thereby equating to 93 bags of rice per hectare or 38 bags of rice per acre.

General Manager of the GRDB, Nizam Hassan, said the rice industry has once again been resilient against the existing challenges and has done exceedingly well.
“This time we faced those challenges head strong and head on and with determination to be even more successful than previous years,” said Hassan in an invited comment on Saturday.

The general manager said the board is very pleased with the performance of the sector and owes it to the work of stakeholders such as farmers, staff of GRDB, millers and exporters.
In May last year, the Guyana Chronicle reported that the performance of the rice industry continued to improve rapidly, with earnings for the first quarter of the year reaching US$41.7 million; this was about 2.15 times the US$19.3 million which was earned in the corresponding period in 2018.

In the report, Hassan had said Guyana exported 103,024 tonnes of rice from January-March 2019, more than twice the 49,629 tonnes exported during the same period last year.
Portugal was the top export destination for Guyana’s rice with 25,477 tonnes in January-March 2019, followed by Italy with 20,848 tonnes; Venezuela 15,105 tonnes; Jamaica 8,883 tonnes; the Netherlands 6,698 tonnes; the United Kingdom (UK) 6,294 tonnes; Panama 5,273 tonnes; Trinidad 5,206 tonnes; Honduras 1,566 tonnes; Greece 956 tonnes; Poland 949 tonnes; Spain 759 tonnes; France 707 tonnes; and others 4,298 tonnes.
There was also a notable increase in exports of rice to Jamaica. Exports to the Caribbean nation moved from 6,638 tonnes in the first quarter of 2018 to 8,883 tonnes for the same period in 2019.

There was also an increase in exports to Panama, where there were challenges in the past. Exports to Panama were 5,237 tonnes compared to 3,771 tonnes last year. Total exports to CARICOM countries netted US$8.4 million in the first quarter of 2019, compared to US$6.4 million in 2018, an increase of about 30 per cent.

Export earnings from the European Union has increased tremendously, moving from US$3.8 million to US$22.1 million. Meanwhile, exports of rice to Latin America decreased, but the total earnings had increased from US$9 million to US$11.1 million.

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