LAST year was another record-breaking one for the rice industry which recorded a production of 635,238 tonnes, of which 501,208 tonnes was exported.Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy told the Guyana Chronicle that the export value surpassed $1B.

“The growth in rice export since 2010 has been phenomenal, and we expect it to grow even more in 2015,” he said, adding that the export in 2013 was 394,000 tonnes, from a production of 535,212 tonnes, which was far above the original target of 413,000 tonnes.

Dr Ramsammy said that of the 501,208 tonnes exported in 2014, some 187,995 tonnes was shipped to Venezuela, while another 59,279 tonnes was shipped to Panama, with which latter country Guyana inked its most recent rice trade agreement, making it the second largest destination for Guyana’s rice.
“Export to CARICOM was 99,000 tonnes,” Dr. Ramsammy said, adding: “Exports to Europe was 102,000 tonnes, plus other shipments that were made.”
The country currently has export agreements with several countries in the Caribbean, as well as with Venezuela and Panama, among other markets. Also, arrangements for rice shipments to countries in West Africa are still being finalised.
The Minister stated, too, that given that local utilisation is about 120,000 tonnes, only about 15,000 tonnes remain on hand.
“Added to our carry-over of about 110,000 tonnes from 2013, we have about 125,000 tonnes on hand that will meet local demand and the international market demands for the period of January to March 2015,” he said.
Ramsammy stated too that there are still some 2014 contracts to meet and these shipments will be completed during the first two weeks of 2015.

SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION
All considered, the Agriculture Minister underscored the “significant contribution” that the rice industry continues to make to Guyana’s economy, despite the challenges on local and international markets.
He credited the Government’s commitment to the industry as one of the factors that supported the industry’s maintained viability and success.
He said: “Government’s support to the industry has been strong…For example, when farmers were faced with high prices for urea we stepped in to assist also. This investment saw approximately $400M being used to procure urea from Venezuela to make available at a subsidised cost of $5,000 per bag compared to the $10,000 which was being paid. Government is now seeking to ensure availability of urea at a cost of $4,900 per bag. We are hopeful that the private sector will seek to match the government’s price, thus lowering cost of production.”
This support will continue in 2015, Dr. Ramsammy said, adding that about 14,000 tonnes of fertilizer will be made available to farmers from the Government’s investment.
He said, “This will meet about 33 per cent of the need. We want to ensure that the private sector continues to play a positive role in the supply of fertilizers, but should the need arise for us to invest more to keep the price of fertilizers to below $5,000 per bag, we will do so.”
On that note, he extended his congratulations to all the sector’s stakeholders, particularly rice farmers, for working to ensure the growth and success of the rice export market in 2015.
It is expected that someday Guyana will overcome the existing challenges to bring it in line with the world’s largest producers of rice. As such, focus is being placed on exploring new and emerging global markets, tackling the crucial and critical issues to facilitate increasing production. (Vanessa Narine)