The announcement by Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy,

that arrangements have been finalised for paddy and rice to be shipped to Venezuela is indeed very good news for our rice industry.
Dr Ramsammy, who recently led a delegation to Venezuela, disclosed that the first shipment in this regard is expected to be dispatched before this month’s end.
“The recent visit by the team was successful, since we have managed to maintain similar prices received last year, and at the same time amend the agreement to increase rice and reduce paddy exported.
“This is in keeping with the government’s mandate in increasing the exportation of more value-added products.”
He said during discussions in Caracas, both parties pledged to work even more closely to reduce difficulties previously faced, so as to improve the quality of service provided, as well as the livelihoods of their people.
It was also agreed by both parties that the export of rice and paddy would begin almost immediately, and continue for this first crop until early August.
Guyana and Venezuela also further discussed Guyana importing fertilisers from Venezuela. The Ministry of Agriculture will continue these discussions over the next weeks, in order to provide Guyana with another option to source fertilizers.
Dr. Ramsammy said: “The first shipment of rice is expected to be dispatched on May 23, while the first shipment of paddy is expected to occur on May 28. We expect to export approximately 100,000 tonnes of rice and paddy in this period to Venezuela”.
From what has been reported by the minister, it appears that the agreement reached by the two sides is very good one, but importantly, it caters for exports of more rice and less paddy, as this would be more beneficial to our rice industry.
However, notably, Dr. Ramsammy said he would like to advise stakeholders in the rice industry that because the conditions of sale and remuneration received for this new agreement are similar to those that obtained in the last agreement, millers are expected to pay farmers prices for current purchases that are similar to those of the last purchases made in 2012.
It is refreshing to hear this caution by the minister because in the past, and to a lesser extent more recently, payments to farmers by millers have been a sore point. Farmers simply cannot be treated with such disdain because they are the backbone of the industry. Without them there would be no rice industry and they do work extremely hard and endure lots of suffering and risks, particularly against the backdrop of the unusual weather patterns brought about by global warming.
With our rice industry set to produce 440,000 tonnes of rice this year-another record-breaking figure, there is now urgent need to aggressively explore new markets, because our local market is a very small one and therefore would not be able to absorb such massive amounts of rice.
In this regard, all stakeholders need to work collaboratively to further enhance the rice industry which is now poised for even more exciting things.