NAND Persaud & Company Limited established its first rice mill in 1992, producing one ton of white rice per hour.

Today, the company located at #36 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, has the capability to produce up to eight tonnes of parboiled rice and 12 tonnes of white rice per hour under the brand ‘Karibee Rice.’

The packaging aspect of the company has the capacity to produce 30 tonnes of packaged rice per day.

On November 22, 2022, the company received its permit to use the Made in Guyana Standards Mark from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards’ (GNBS).

This prestigious mark which boosts competitiveness of local products, is now affixed to the packages of parboiled long grain rice and white long grain rice manufactured under the ‘Karibee’ brand.

The Chief Executive Officer of Nand Persaud and Company Ltd., Mohindra Persaud, said: “The GNBS’ certification would improve the marketability of the products and provide our (Karibee) brand of products [with] a voice for all of our customers, both locally and internationally.”

According to the company’s Quality Manager, Kulina Laljiet, it is important to provide customers with quality food.

Laljiet said: “Customers have the right to demand that the food they buy and eat is both healthy and of the highest calibre. The look, size, form, colour, consistency, texture, flavour, and nutritional value are some examples of these quality features.”

With 160 employees, she said: “The business has committed to investing financial and human resources to put in place the necessary controls required during the various stages of manufacturing, processing, and packaging of the rice.”

The Made in Guyana certification adds to the company’s ISO 22000 certification received in 2019 after completing a successful Technical Assistance programme with the GNBS.

The ISO 22000 standard addresses Food Safety Management Systems and helps organizations identify and control food safety hazards.

The Karibee rice brand can be found in all supermarkets countrywide and is exported to the other countries in South America, Caribbean, Europe and North America.

Nand Persaud and Company Ltd. further manufactures Karibee pet rice and uses the by-products bran and cornhusk for animal feed. Labelling and branding of rice for other local and foreign companies are also done.

Meanwhile, over the years the company has diversified its business to include Agriculture Machinery Department (spare parts store), a call centre, NPG Packaging & Plastific Inc., Flexotech Inc., and Green Power Solutions Inc.

On March 17, 2023, Plastific Inc. also joined the GNBS’ Made in Guyana Certification Mark Programme with its range of products. The certificate was handed over by the GNBS’ Head of Certification, Andrea Mendonca, to the company’s Assistant Manager, Togeshwarie Ganesh.

Located at Wellington Park, Corentyne, Berbice, Plastific Inc. was established in 2018 and produces plastic bottles, preforms, cups, plates, spoons, storage containers in various sizes and cutlery. It caters to the local market and has the capability of producing up to six tons of products per day.

According to Ganesh, the company has been following the quality standard and has strived to produce the best products for its customers. She advised that a company’s success and reputation are directly impacted by the quality of its products.

She said: “When we create high-quality products that continue to meet customer demands, it leads to lower production costs, a higher investment return, and an increase in revenue. We also create products to fill a need in the market, and customers expect the products to meet that need as the company advertises them.”

The Management of Nand Persaud Group of companies takes this opportunity to urge more local manufacturers to pursue certification to achieve the GNBS’ Permit to use the Made in Guyana Standards Mark.