RICE farmers, particularly in Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) and Region 3 (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands), are set to begin harvesting their second crop of rice in the first week in September. General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA), Dharamkumar Seeraj is skeptical that they will be able to meet the target of 77,000 hectares for this season since some farmers in Regions Five (Mahaica/Berbice) and Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) planted late and are expected to  begin harvesting sometime late October.
In addition, the current weather conditions are posing some challenges for the rice industry. Seeraj reiterated that the mud dams are in a deplorable state because of the constant rainfall and they are facing great difficulties because the dams are needed to access the rice fields.  He said that they are not getting an extended dry period to be able to effect repairs and eventually, it will cause them to incur additional expenses.
Seeraj advised that so far 65,000 hectares have been cultivated for this season. This number is significantly less than that of last season which saw 78,000 hectares sown and 74,800 hectares harvested. This produced just over five million bags of paddy.
He explained that the fluctuating fuel prices also have an impact on rice production. Other than the use of actual fuel in the production process, fuel prices also affect the price of fertilizers. The price of urea, he said, ranges from $7,400 to $8,800 per bag, while Triple Super Phosphate (ISP) costs from $9,000 to $11,500 per bag and Nitrogen Phosphorous Potassium (NPK) costs from $7,700 to $11,500 per bag.
As of last crop, the price of rice ranged from $3,000 to $4,600 per bag.
Currently, Guyana’s largest export market is Venezuela, which imports both rice and paddy from us, followed by Europe as a block and then Jamaica and other Caribbean countries.