GENERAL Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA), Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj announced, on Monday, that the current rice crop, which is about to conclude harvesting, is the largest ever with approximately 202,000 acres under cultivation.

During a People’s Progressive Party (PPP) press conference at Freedom House, Robb Street, Seeraj related that productivity has also improved with the average yield per acre being approximately 35 bags of paddy, compared to 29 bags previously.
He pointed out that the country was stalled with access to its single largest market, Venezuela, primarily due to the sudden death of its president Hugo Chavez.
However, earlier this month Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and Venezuelan Minister of Food, Felix Osorio signed a Letter of Commitment for the export of 140,000 tonnes of paddy and 70,000 tonnes of white rice.
Seeraj noted that the contract was initially planned to conclude on March 12 this year and the negotiations were ongoing since December last year.
“Normally, over the previous years, we would have signed this contract just about in the first week of April but we were making a special effort to bring forward the date this year recognising the size of the crop and also the increased productivity,” he said.
He pointed out that while the Venezuelan market is critical for the local rice industry, Guyana represents only a small part of that country’s importation of food and food items, and hence the contract was not on its list of priority and was delayed.
Seeraj recalled that the Guyana-Venezuela rice arrangement started approximately five years ago with negotiations between former President Bharrat Jagdeo and President Hugo Chavez. He noted that, at that time, the average price for export was approximately US$450 per ton, markets were “very slow”, and payments were uncertain.
He related that the Government of Guyana was aiming for a five-year deal with Venezuela but they preferred to work with an annual contract.
“So once we have two crops per annum, the arrangement would see basically coverage for both crops within every given year at some preferential prices, which is a little more than world market price,” he explained.
He said that for Guyana, the guarantee of payment for a high quality of rice, which also carries a high price, is important.
In addition, he stated that the rice deal is an extension of the Petro Caribe agreement and will see Venezuela not having to take money out of the treasury, but rather benefit from the proceeds from the sale of petroleum and petroleum products.
Meanwhile, Seeraj disclosed that the PPP is working towards having more concrete arrangements in place while expanding markets within and outside the region.
He added that cash flow has recently been a major problem because of the increased productivity and very slow exports which led to issues of farmers not being paid on time and a price not being set.
He stated that at the beginning of the season, the GRPA had outlined two situations – a likely price of approximately $3,500 without the Venezuelan deal, and an average price of $4,000 when the Venezuelan deal comes into operation.
He pointed that that while the export to Venezuela might increase slightly this year, as a percentage of total export, it will be less than last year simply because the production this year will be greater than last year’s.
Seeraj said that last year more than 420,000 tonnes of rice was produced, while it is expected that more than 440,000 tonnes will be produced this year.
“Venezuela will no longer account for 66 percent of our exports as it did last year simply because of our expanded production,” he said.
Seeraj noted that there are other issues such as the grading of paddy, which he said are routine problems that the industry faces from time to time.
“I think the industry has weeded out the people who have not been so forthcoming in transparent and accountable deals with the farmers. The industry itself during the course of its operation saw this happening…” he stated.
He also pointed out that Minister Ramsammy recently had a meeting with farmers in Essequibo where several measures were outlined.
Among these, he said, was the initiative to have an advance made to millers but payable only to farmers. This process, he added, would be overseen by the GRPA.
Seeraj emphasised that it is a burning issue for the PPP to ensure that the rice sector, which plays a dominant role in the overall economy as a sustainable industry, does not suffer in any way from whatever hiccups may occur on the international scene.
He noted that there is a sliding rate on the duty that fuel, a major input in the sector, attracts which goes down when the international price for petroleum goes up and which comes back to normal when the price goes down. He observed that there is a stable price for diesel because of this mechanism.
Seeraj also indicated that land preparation is well underway for the second crop this year and sowing has already commenced in Essequibo.