Rice Producers Association (RPA) General Secretary Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj has expressed discontent with Mahaicony Rice Mills (MRM) for not yet honouring outstanding payments to Regions Five and Six farmers.

Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, at a press briefing early last week, said MRM has assured him that all payments for rice farmers from 2008 will be honoured immediately.

Persaud told reporters that the company has also given a commitment that urgent steps will be taken to clear all outstanding monies to farmers for this year’s first crop before harvesting commences in the second crop.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Seeraj pointed out that the company has since fulfilled its financial obligations to Region Two farmers.

According to him, MRM owes rice farmers in Region Five $100M and their colleagues in Region Six $ 150M.

He noted too that harvesting of the second crop in these regions will be in full swing by next month end.

The mill, he said, has said that because of the global financial crisis, it has been experiencing some difficulty in accessing inflows for sales from overseas.

Persaud had said if the company does not honour its obligation, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has the power to make certain interventions but these will only be used as a last resort.

According to Persaud, these measures include private actions by farmers and reviewing the company’s milling and exporting activities.

He disclosed in a move to better protect farmers, his ministry is currently drafting a regulation to be taken to parliament that will allow for greater representation for farmers as it relates to payment by millers.

Meanwhile, Seeraj said harvesting for this crop has already commenced in Region Four and the yields have not been encouraging, pointing out that they are just about average.

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 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 food 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 expanded their cultivation.