–local authorities assure island-nation there’s enough to satisfy its demand

WITH Guyana increasing its export prices for rice, largely owing to a series of flood-related circumstances, Barbados has reached out to local authorities seeking to ensure a steady, affordable and timely supply of this commodity.

This is according to Guyana’s Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, who said that once a timetable for the deliveries has been confirmed, a formal agreement will be signed with the island-country.

“Barbados is requesting approximately 3,000 tonnes of rice; we are now tidying up the arrangement, and then we will sign a MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] to ensure we deliver to them,” Minister Mustapha said.

Head of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Kuldip Ragnauth said that the arrangement is that Guyana will supply Barbados with rice from November 2021 to December 2022 at a slightly reduced cost.

The intervention, according to Ragnauth, allows for Barbados to not only receive a good and stable deal on rice prices, but it also ensures that the country has a continuous and reliable supply of rice.

“Some suppliers are supplying rice at a higher price, but I want to ensure the people of Barbados that Guyana has enough rice to supply them,” Ragnauth related.

Although Guyana has been exporting rice to Barbados since 1996, Minister Mustapha said that the two countries have already committed to strengthening bilateral relations, and doing more business together.

He related that the new arrangement, which could possibly be replicated across other sectors, forms part of President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s efforts to increase trade within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which will ultimately position Guyana to tap into and perhaps even reduce the region’s hefty food importation bill.

The government is already aiming to supply at least 25 per cent of the region’s imported products within the next four years.
In the circumstances, strategic positions have already been adopted by President Ali and his Barbadian counterpart, Prime Minister Mia Mottley. And, as a matter of fact, within the past couple of months, the two leaders have been able to “hammer out” a concrete, time-bound framework for enhanced collaboration and trade between the two countries, particularly in the areas of food production and export.

At a recent press conference, President Ali made specific reference to key areas on which the two countries have reached agreement, including increased production and removal of barriers to trade, more specifically, with the possibility of establishing a Guyana-Barbados food terminal, as well as agro-processing facilities.

FOOD SUSTAINABILITY PLAN
The two countries have also embarked on the formulation of a Guyana-Barbados food sustainability plan, agreeing to facilitate an exchange of technicians between the countries’ Ministries of Agriculture, with the intention of accommodating a smooth and efficient transaction flow.

“So, what we have agreed on is that we will have a Guyanese in the Ministry of Agriculture in Barbados, and a ‘Bajan’ in the Ministry of Agriculture in Guyana, so that Guyanese can deal directly with their counterpart in Barbados, and that Barbadians can deal directly with their counterpart here,” Dr. Ali said during a recent press conference.

Similarly, the two countries have also agreed to the sharing of port spaces to facilitate trade, and reduce costs for the movement of goods between the two countries.

The Guyanese Head of State is hopeful that those initiatives will assist in removing the hassle, barriers and bureaucracy of doing business between the two countries.

“That is what we are trying to remove here,” Dr. Ali related.
He highlighted, too, that Barbados and Guyana have also discussed opportunities for investments in quarry, feedstock, livestock, and limestone.

Even further, more extensive discussions were had in relation to the countries ‘twinning’ the tourism product of both countries. So far, Barbados has agreed to facilitate the training of 6,000 Guyanese for the hospitality sector.