The reduced scale of operations at the Mahaicony Rice Mill has caused much speculation as to the embattled company’s future in Guyana.
And General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), Dharamkumar Seeraj, is contending that this is something the sector needs to be clear on.
“The word is that the owner is expected in the country sometime this week so a meeting will be necessary to find out his intentions…we (the rice sector) need the capacity that the mill has,” he said.
Seeraj explained that the drying and storage capacity is important to the sector, so whether the company will be leasing its facility or working it themselves is something the sector needs to be clear on.
Relative to the latter, the RPA General Secretary noted that the sector has never advocated for the mill not to operate, rather the contention is that it operates in an even-handed manner.
“RPA has always pushed for the interest of our farmers, that is what we advocate,” he said.
Seeraj added that, according to his information, some of the mill’s staff has been sent home because of the mill’s inability to facilitate payments.
However, he maintained that he is unaware of the mill’s closing and stressed that the owner’s intentions need to be known so that the sector can plan accordingly.
The Mahaicony Rice Mill Limited reportedly controls 40 per cent of the paddy purchases in Guyana and has mills across the country. The company has had to halt a large rice shipment, has been in court, and has had to pay out millions to farmers who took legal recourse to secure what was owed to them.
The Ministry of Agriculture started an audit to reconcile claims by farmers of monies owed to them with the records of Mahaicony Rice Mill.
In an invited comment, General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Jagnarine Singh, noted that the process is continuing.
“We were there today (yesterday) and they requested an additional two weeks to get the documents we asked for together,” he said.
Singh noted that a concern is the authenticity of all the documents, but he maintained that the bottom line is doing everything to ensure that farmers are given their due.
When asked, Singh said he too is unaware of where the company now stands.
Meanwhile, repeated attempts to contact Mahaicony Rice Mill General Manger, Ms. Tara Ghani, proved futile.