… Agriculture Minister assures that fiscal interventions will tackle price increases on global markets
GUYANA’S food prices are fairly stable, according to Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who added that the government is committed to making fiscal interventions where necessary to combat price increases on global markets which negatively affect the local economy.
“The global price for wheat, for example, is moving, and this has implications for the flour markets here locally…for those staple items we have to import we are monitoring the prices to ensure that at all times availability and access are not negatively impacted. If that is the case, then the government is prepared to make fiscal interventions to buffer the prices and maintain stability,” he said.

The Agriculture Minister stated that the Government of Guyana has always demonstrated its commitment to the Guyanese people.
He pointed out that earlier this year, the government stepped in when the National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO) wanted to raise its prices after wheat prices soared on the global markets.
Prices for wheat, a critical staple, rose because of poor harvests in producing countries, more recently in Queensland, Australia, where the flooding situation has impacted the global wheat price. 
After meeting the local stakeholders, the government lifted all restrictions for the importation of flour and continued careful monitoring of importation at the level of the Food and Drugs Department, as well as the Bureau of Standards.
Ramsammy told the Guyana Chronicle that Guyana is food secure and all efforts will be made to maintain that status.
“Globally, the average calorie intake that is recommended is between 2200 and 2400. In Guyana that average is 2600…in terms of the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), Guyana is one of the few countries that have already met the 2015 goals,” the minister said. 
The number of hungry people in the world remains unacceptably high, despite expected recent gains that have pushed the figure below one billion. The FAO estimates that the number of people who will suffer from chronic hunger in 2010 is 925 million. MDG One addresses the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.

UPSIDE
Ramsammy acknowledged the upside of the food prices increase, noting that this augurs well for Guyana’s export of commodities such as rice and sugar.
He noted that Guyana has a chance to increase its production in an effort to capitalise on the current demand and supply dynamic.
The minister explained that while increases in commodity prices on the global markets pose a challenge, since Guyana is an importer of important staples such as wheat, the increases augur well for exports.
“If there is a decrease on the commodities we export, then this will affect our economy…what we will have to do if there is a decrease in the world market prices is we will have to increase production and lower our cost of production. This will give us a buffer of sorts to deal with the impacts of a decrease,” he said.
Following the 2007/2008 food crisis, Guyana became pro-active in investing in food production and, by extension, increasing availability.
Ramsammy said sugar is performing well and once the sector clears 280,000 tonnes, the cost of production can be lowered and the sector can take advantage of the upward trends on the global markets.
Rice, he stated, is performing well, adding that a bumper crop is expected for the autumn crop, which should take production to historic levels.
He said many other sectors, including the livestock sector, have the potential to enter the export market, but they must move from the stage of self sufficiency.

FAO REPORT
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 215 points in November 2011, marginally (1 point) down from October and 10 per cent (23 points) below its February 2011 peak.
The FAO report stated that among the various commodities, a recovery of oil quotations compensated for a decline in sugar, while prices of the other commodity groups were little changed. At its current value, the FFPI is only one per cent (2 points) above its level in November 2010.
The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 228 points in November, down one per cent (3 points) from October. The small decline was mainly on account of wheat, which lost 3 per cent (6 points) following a marked upgrade of world supplies, mostly driven by larger output and stocks in the Russian Federation. Rice export prices were down slightly too, but coarse grain prices were almost unchanged in November after sliding for two months.
The FAO Sugar Price Index averaged 340 points in November, down 6 percent (21 points) from October and 15 per cent (60 points) from its July 2011 peak. The decline largely reflects expectations of a large global production surplus over the next twelve months, on the back of good harvests in India, the EU, Thailand and the Russian Federation.
The Agriculture Minister stressed that the Ministry of Agriculture is closely monitoring all the price movements.