Meeting with Minister…
FARMERS on Essequibo Coast were on Monday assured by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud that the Government is sparing no effort to expand the rice industry and securing the best prices for the products on the international market.
Meeting with them at Anna Regina, he said, because the industry is very vulnerable, the milling and exporting community has been encouraged to go where prices are much more stable and higher than the traditional markets.
Mr. Persaud said the advent of the Venezuelan market is a part of the action to reduce the vulnerability to the traditional markets and depressed prices.
“That is why, from this crop, we have close to 50,000 tonnes of paddy earmarked for Venezuela, as well as 20,000 tonnes of white rice. The prices that are being offered there are higher than that obtained on all other markets,” he stated.
Persaud said the Government has been pursuing the Suriname market, as well, as that country has a lot of milling capacity, too.
He said Suriname is, currently, looking to Guyana to assist in reviving its industry from the extension, research and production standpoint.
“We have also made a call to them, saying that, in the meantime they are trying to get their production up, Guyana can supply rice and paddy,” Persaud disclosed.
He mentioned that the Government is looking at the Colombians to see if they are interested in sourcing paddy from this country.
Persaud said, after a lot of hassle and long quarrels with Jamaica, Guyana was able to sign a memorandum of understanding with that country that guaranteed Guyana a sale on the Jamaican Market.
He explained that there is a facility that Jamaica enjoys, through which it is allowed to import 60,000 tons of paddy without applying the (CARICOM) Common External Tariff (CET).
But it expires this year, which means that Guyana can supply Jamaica with that amount, or, if the latter wishes to source elsewhere, it will have to pay the CET, Persaud said.
Therefore, he said, in looking to expand Guyana’s traditional markets within CARICOM, the Government will be monitoring, very closely, what happens, in terms of not only preserving this country’s market share but pursuing non-traditional markets to get the best prices for its produce.
Persaud mentioned that Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) will be publishing the prices at which people are exporting on the international market and that information would allow farmers and other stakeholders to know what can be gotten, in comparison to what they are being offered.
He observed that the agriculture sector benefits when food prices go up on the international market and the quantity Guyana exports there is limited to make any great impact.
Farmers were given an opportunity to state their concerns, with the aim of ascertaining the best reasonable prices for which they can sell the crop they are harvesting and, because Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) is ahead in the process, Persaud informed issues, such as purchasing paddy, ensuring that markets are available and the best prices are paid, ought to be ventilated at an early stage.
He said, for this year, the agriculture sector will see a higher production than last year, even though it was feared that Region Two would have lost a significant amount.
But the opposite happened instead despite the El Nino weather conditions and other climatic difficulties, Persaud said.
He commended the farmers for being very dedicated and resilient, which led to improvement in productivity through those difficult periods.