This first crop to be bigger than ever
AGRICULTURE Minister Robert Persaud says Guyana will not endorse any waiver of CARICOM’s Common External Tariff (CET) for Jamaica to import rice from outside the region if there is no proper justification of the move.

Persaud made the announcement at a recent press briefing held at his ministry when he also reiterated that there is no shortage on the local market.

He pointed out that the position of Guyana’s sister CARICOM member state could harmfully affect the local industry as countries such as the United States heavily subsidize their operations.

The Jamaican government has indicated that it will approach CARICOM to have the CET waived because local exporters are reluctant to enter into long term contracts with Jamaican importers who fear their supplies would not be met.

The Jamaicans have announced that they will import some 30,000 tonnes of rice from an extra-regional market.

But Persaud reassured that there is no shortage in supply in relation to what is the average demand in Jamaica, and he suspects the issue is one more related to pricing rather than supply.

According to the minister, there is an adequate supply in Guyana and it is up to the Jamaican buyers and local suppliers to work out the details.

He also noted that government cannot instruct local exporters to sell their rice at a given price and disclosed that several companies including Nand Persaud and Company, Golden Fleece Investment, Mahaicony Rice Mills, Demerara Import and Export, and CARICOM Rice Mills have already signed contracts to supply Jamaica.

Last year Guyana exported close to 52,000 tonnes of rice to Jamaica, and Persaud said this crop an estimated 30,000 tonnes will be shipped to the island.

He stressed that to date contracts have been inked for Guyana to supply more than 15,000 tonnes, and of that amount, some 4,000 tonnes was exported to that country last month.

“I don’t mind rice from the U.S. or any other country entering the market, but the relevant CET must apply…we can sell our rice elsewhere but we have an obligation to CARICOM and as part of honouring that obligation, we have to ensure that the CET remains in place so that we can competitively sell our rice within CARICOM,” he said.

He noted that so far, close to 60 per cent of the first crop has been harvested and efforts are being made to get all the paddy out of the field before the mid-year rainy season steps in.

Persaud pointed out that this crop will be one of the biggest first crops, much bigger that the second crop last year, as in excess of 30,000 acres of new rice lands have been cultivated.

He said his ministry has received reports that there is some amount of smuggling taking place, and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been alerted to keep an eye out for any illegal activity.

“We are also using our field officers to be on the look out; we have some information and we are following up that information; there might be small quantities which are being pilfered,” the minister presumed.

He pointed out that before the commodity is exported, it has to be cleared for quality and all relevant documents have to be verified by the Guyana Rice Development Board.