Rice exports surpass 400,000 tonnes mark

– production over 600,000 tonnes

GUYANA’S rice industry continues to perform well, recording phenomenal successes, and to date the sector has produced over 600,000 tonnes of rice.

This was according to Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who also disclosed that the export mark of 400,000 tonnes has been surpassed.
“As of last Tuesday, Guyana for the first time reached 400,000 tonnes of export,” he said, in an invited comment.
The Minister added that this number excludes a number of contracts for rice exports that have to be met. “With the contracts we have to supply, before the end of December, we have another 137,000 to be exported…we are on pace to surpass 500,000 tonnes in export,” he said.
Dr. Ramsammy pointed out that 500,000 tonnes of rice was the 2020 target for production. “Rice is doing extremely well,” he stressed.

NEW CONTRACTS
The Minster stated too that new contracts for rice exports are also being signed, another boost for the industry.
He also acknowledged that despite the successes, there are still challenges facing the sector, but assured that assiduous efforts are being made to address these. “We have to look at things like managing quick payments to our farmer,” Dr. Ramsammy said.
Additionally, he told the Guyana Chronicle that with harvesting for the second 2014 crop almost complete, farmers have already started land preparations for the first crop of 2015.
The production for 2013 was 535,212 tonnes, which was far above the original target of 413,000 tonnes, and reflected a 27 per cent increase over the production in 2012. The average production per hectare was some five tonnes. For 2014, production is expected to surpass last year’s target. (Vanessa Narine)

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