THE Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) said there is no need for Guyana to import rice as local production is adequate to meet local demand.

GRDB General Manager Nizam Hassan, told the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Monday that there is an adequate production of rice for local consumption as well as for export. “It has really been an aggressive position by the rice producers and millers, to export the production here. We have always had adequate production for our local consumption,” he told DPI.

According to Hassan, production for the first half of this year stands at 290,000 tonnes valued at GYD $23.2Billion (US$111 Million) for January to June, 2018, compared to 203,000 tonnes valued at GYD $16.1 Billion (US$77 Million) for the corresponding period last year.

For the second crop, the GRDB had also targeted 88,660 hectares of land for cultivation. So far, 86 percent or 76,500 hectares has been cultivated, Hassan said. He added, “we have 43 percent increase in export volume and 44 percent in export value. There is no need for rice importation. We have adequate supplies for production.”