MINISTER of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has reported that ‘Bengal Aromatic Rice’, recently put on the market is doing well locally.
As a result, he said an even larger supply is expected to be produced during this crop.
The minister said only a small amount of the unique species was produced in the first instance, with only one farmer cultivating it on approximately 60 acres.

However, from that cultivation, the planter reaped about 1,000 bags and, thus far, the variety has proven to be a product very much in demand and selling quite rapidly.
Ramsammy said: “I’m surprised actually. The Guyana Shop is not going to have a supply of the Aromatic Rice very soon because we’ll have to wait for the next crop.”
He added, though, that the next crop will have a much larger supply with between 20 and 25 farmers throughout Regions 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) and 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) producing the special brand.
“So we should have a fairly good supply and I believe that it is going to be still majorly utilised in Guyana and we’re going to make sure that we meet the local demand,” Ramsammy stated.
The minister said the aim is to meet local demand first and, in a short period of time, look to export.
The Bengal Aromatic Rice, which was introduced on the Guyanese market last December, is a special type like the popular Basmati Rice of India and is now being produced in Guyana for the first time in the Caribbean and distributed by Rambrich Enterprise.
Ramsammy had previously pointed out that it was developed after years of experimentation at the Ministry’s Burma, East Coast Demerara rice research station.