A CUBAN-OWNED company, ALIMPORT, will be shipping from Guyana 15,000 metric tonnes of rice this month.

The rice is being supplied by Hack and Sons Rice Milling Complex. Three Cuban representatives of the company arrived in Guyana on Monday to ensure and oversee the entire process. The company also plans on taking 15,000 metric tonnes more in the new month, while another batch of 30,000 tonnes will be loaded onto another ship later in the year to head to Cuba.

The Cubans noted that Caribbean countries should support each other in a path of development. Representative of ALIMPORT, Reynaldo Labora, said the agreement between the two companies has been in the making for a long time, so he is confident that it is the beginning of a long-lasting business relationship.

After a downward spiral, rice seems to be climbing its way back up the ladder. The Ministry of Agriculture had reported that harvesting of the first crop of 2017 ended with a total of 89,290 hectares, 23 per cent over the first crop in 2016.

For the first crop of 2017, exports amounted to 239,442 metric tonnes, some 60,000 tonnes less than that for the same period last year. Foreign exchange earnings from rice and paddy amounted to US$92,026. The GRDB has projected a second-crop target of 85,021 hectares. The board is also assisting farmers and has commenced issuing fertiliser to farmers on credit; the provision of quality seed paddy is also being assured.