NINETEEN local rice millers on Wednesday received outstanding payments to the tune of $1.5 billion from rice shipped to Panama in 2018.
Since that time, the millers had not received payments for two shipments of rice, each weighing approximately 20,000 tonnes that were shipped to Panama on credit.

During a meeting where the millers received their cheques for the outstanding payments, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha said that an initial deal between Guyana and Panama was established in 2014 under the previous PPP/C government and was going well.
However, in 2018 under the APNU+AFC administration, while another deal was established, there was a breakdown in the entire agreement resulting in the millers being owed a large sum of money.

The minister said, “In 2018, we had this issue. The shipment from 2018 was not paid for and then we had a breakdown of the entire system. Because of that, a number of mills, about six or seven mills, went out of business.”
Against this backdrop, he indicated that as the People’s Progressive Party/Civic assumed office and he became agriculture minister, they made an undertaking to pursue and resolve the issue.

The government Mustapha added was trying as much as possible to have the issue resolved earlier, but had to go the legal route even as bilateral discussions were ongoing, but they arrived at no resolution.
Mustapha disclosed that the government engaged a legal firm and went to arbitration; however, when President, Dr Irfaan Ali met the Panamanian President, an agreement was reached that Panama would pay and the arbitration would be withdrawn.

“We gave them an undertaking that as long as the principle [SIC] is paid and the farmers, the millers are paid then we will ensure that we withdraw that arbitration,” he said.

To this end, he added that the fund was paid into the Guyana Rice Development Board’s account and further disbursed to the rice millers.
Earlier this year, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall had said during a press conference that the government was addressing an amicable payment proposal from the Panamanian government to resolve the flawed rice deal that was made under the APNU+AFC administration.

Nandlall explained that the coalition government in 2018 established a trade agreement with Panama covering the supply of 9,000 tonnes of rice through the GRDB.
That deal, he detailed, lacked the adequate payment terms and safeguards which led to financial challenges and legal battles for the GRDB.