– Current crop to facilitate export of 1 million bags of paddy and rice to Venezuela
General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA), Dharamkumar Seeraj, told the Guyana Chronicle, in an invited comment, that harvesting of the spring crop is well underway and Region Four (Demerara/ Mahaica) has recorded the highest yield so far.
“We are averaging some 5.4 tonnes per hectare in Region Four, with 90 percent of that coming from the Cane Grove area,” Seeraj said.
In the other rice producing regions, he said, the yields range between 5.3 tonnes and 4.8 tonnes per hectare.
According to him, Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) averaged 5.3 tonnes per hectare, Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara) had some 4.6 tonnes, Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) had 4.4 tonnes, and Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) had 4.8 tonnes per hectare.
However, he acknowledged that some rice was lost in Region Five in the Mahaica area, but Seeraj maintained that most of the crop was saved.
He noted that given the increased yields in the different regions, the rice sector is well poised to meet its target of 4.4 million bags of paddy.
The acreage sown in the regions was: 35,500 acres in Region Two; 14,000 acres in Region Three; 6,000 acres in Region Four; over 70,000 acres in Region Five; and some 47,000 acres in Region Six.

Export

Seeraj disclosed that the rice sector expects to export some 1 million bags of rice and paddy to Venezuela – a continuation of the agreement inked with the neighbouring country last year.
Guyana has settled on a second agreement with Venezuela to the tune of US$38M for the supply of 50,000 tonnes of paddy and 20,000 tonnes of white rice.
Seeraj noted that shipments are continuing to fulfil that agreement.
According to him, Guyana is in a good position to export internationally also, given the fact that the prices on the international markets are holding at a favourable high.
“This is good news for us,” he said.
At home, Seeraj said millers are paying farmers between $3,800 and $4,200 per bag of paddy, and as much as $4,400 for extra grade A rice.
He added that millers have generally stuck to the mandatory timeline for payment, which is payment in full within 42 days.
The Mahaicony Rice Limited (MRL), according to him, has paid off most of its debt to farmers for past rice crops.
The general consensus among several rice farmers who spoke to the Guyana Chronicle is that the Rice Factories Act is much needed to ease the frustrations caused by delinquent rice millers.
An amendment to the Rice Factories Act is expected to ensure that millers have to pay every farmer 95 percent before they receive a licence. This must be completed within 42 days of supply. The Rice Factories (Amendment) Bill 2010 was read for the first time in the National Assembly in July.

Better Season

Seeraj pointed out that prices paid to farmers by millers this season were better compared to last season.
Last year prices for paddy ranged between $2,600 and $3,500 a bag, and Seeraj noted that the increase in prices is reflective of movement on the global markets.
Food prices around the world surged to a new peak in January, for the seventh consecutive month, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported, adding that the prices are not likely to decline in the months ahead.
According to the FAO, its latest Food Price Index average was up 3.4 percent in January from December last year – the highest level since the agency started measuring food prices in 1990.
Seeraj maintained that this is an opportunity for Guyana to capitalise on the disparity between supply and demand.
“The only bugbear we had this crop was the weather,” he said.
Last year the rice sector achieved a record production of 360,996 tonnes and this year this is projected to increase even further to 379,628 tonnes.