For the current rice crop
Rice Producers Association (RPA) General Secretary Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj yesterday said though the weather over the past few days is favourable for the current crop, more rain is needed in Region Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne).

He told the Guyana Chronicle that the much needed rain is vital for irrigation, given the late start of the second crop.

Seeraj pointed out to date sowing in Regions Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam) and Three (West Demerara/ Essequibo Islands) has been completed.

Some 140 acres of rice fields in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) is yet to be sown, he reported, but sowing was completed at Mahaica, Hope and Cane Grove about two months ago.

Propagation in Region Five (Demerara/ Mahaica) is some 40 per cent complete, while Region Six is about 60 per cent.

The top RPA official was optimistic that this crop will be a bumper one, given indications the weather is likely to improve dramatically.

Rice production for the first crop this year reached some 150,000 tonnes, 25,000 more that the adjusted target.

The revision was made following heavy rainfall in December 2008, which extended into February 2009. Many farmers who were flooded out restarted cultivation, braved the weather conditions, and reaped a commendable crop.

Seeraj also estimated that paddy prices will increase from around $2,800 per bag in the last crop, to between $3,000 and $4,000 this crop.

He explained that the availability of input at cheaper prices, and the regularisation of the financial situation in Europe, will be contributory factors for the price augmentation.

The low prices for paddy in the first crop were due to high input costs and the low global stock-to-use ratio for grains and cereals, which prompted a panic in buying.

Rice price for the last five years rose from an average of US$379 per tonne to US$602 per tonne in the first crop of 2009, a situation which has caused many major foods exporting countries, including those that export rice, such as India, Pakistan and Thailand, to clamp down on their exports.

In response to the high prices and the perceived shortage, all food-producing countries had expanded their cultivation.

This situation, Seeraj pointed out, had resulted in the first crop of 2009 being a bumper harvest, causing the major food exporting countries to relieve their export ban.

He said by the time of harvest of the second crop, which begins in August, the global financial environment should be under control, alluding to banks providing loans to rice traders.

Seeraj was optimistic that, as the financial crisis resolves itself, Guyana will gain more access to markets in Europe, and he noted that, by 2010, it will have duty and quota free access to those markets.