6,000 tons of paddy to leave for Venezuela shortly - GRDB

6,000 tons of paddy to leave for Venezuela shortly – GRDB

Jul 18, 2013 News

– 30,000 tons paddy, 29,000 tons white rice already shipped

As part of Guyana’s contractual obligation to ship paddy and white rice to Venezuela, the sixth shipment of paddy for 2013 is expected to leave shortly. Loading of 6,000 tons of paddy onto the vessel would commence today and conclude on Saturday, once there is favourable weather.
This is according to Jagnarine Singh, General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) who said that five shipments, each containing 6,000 tons of paddy, have already been supplied to the Spanish speaking state. To conclude the contractual arrangement of supplying 80,000 tons of paddy, Guyana has to make at least 13 more shipments.

Jagnarine Singh

Meanwhile, Guyana has already shipped 29,000 tons of the 110,000 tons of white rice required under the contract. He said that 25 tons of white rice are placed in 20-ft containers and transported to Venezuela.
Singh said that for Venezuela to handle one shipment at a time both products are shipped one week apart. How the contract is written, the amounts required by Venezuela could either be 10 percent more or 10 percent less for both products.
Prior to inking this year’s Guyana-Venezuela rice agreement, trucks filled with tons of paddy waiting in long lines to dry at mills, millers running out of money to purchase additional paddy, and the slow outflow of rice and paddy from mills, faced Guyana. Farmers protested the long lines, prices being offered and even the presence of paddy bugs among crops.
However, with Nicolas Maduro elected President of Venezuela, both countries concluded the agreement which is now being materialized with the shipment of paddy and rice.
According to Singh, owing to the financial situation, farmers and millers encountered while waiting on the Venezuelan market, which is very lucrative, an arrangement was made to pay advances to millers.
He noted that prior to the delay, advertisements for millers to apply to sell their paddy to Venezuela were posted and a database of interested millers created. Owing to expense incurred by millers, Government offered advances, which were used to pay farmers.
Millers’ books of farmers and amounts owed were audited by the GRDB and a list of farmers was presented to the bank where the cheques were changed to ensure a fair process.
Singh said that GRDB was never involved in the shipping of rice prior to this agreement. As such, GRDB is tasked with additional responsibilities with staff still having to do their original duties.
He said that one of the primary responsibilities of GRDB, is to ensure that the quality of rice required by Venezuela in the contract, is met. And, this is one of the most tedious tasks when one Region’s poor quality paddy has to mix with another Region’s.
“This is something some people would call like a nightmare because there is so much work to do especially when you have the luxury of having bad paddy added to good paddy,” Singh said.
GRDB and millers were able to secure the services of another vessel. This is reducing the incidence of delays in shipments to Venezuela.
The local agent or company uses the United Bulk Carrier vessel that is fairly new. “Working with this new vessel and more closely monitoring in Venezuela all the delays getting to almost minimum to zero,” he added.