Rice industry cautiously optimistic about Guyana/Venezuela rice deal

Oct 23, 2009 News

In the wake of the rice deal between Guyana and Venezuela, people within the rice sector are cautiously optimistic that the deal will serve to bring about improvement in the sector.
The deal will see Guyana earning US$18.8M or $3.7B in local currency, when the last shipment leaves for the Spanish-speaking country in February next year.
A prominent rice miller said that the deal is a good one but he is not sure if Guyana will be able to supply that quantity of rice in the proposed ten shipments.
He believes that it may be a case of Guyana biting off more than it can chew.
While acknowledging that the realisation of the deal being the easy part, he hopes that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), which is responsible for its execution, can put together the logistics to pull off what can turn out to be a logistical nightmare for that agency if it does not get its act together and hit the ground running.
Another problem the miller foresees is a difficulty with storage.
He is not sure that there are storage facilities around the ports with a capacity to store 10,000 tonnes at any one time to load the Venezuela-bound vessels.
He believes that a better option would be for Guyana to ship half of the 10,000 tonnes per shipment and do it over a longer period.
He feels that this will allow the authorities to adequately meet their obligations.
Having been a reputable rice miller for a number of years he is not sure that Guyana will be able to meet that requirement which he thinks is ‘a tall order’.
However, he is hopeful that they will defy the odds and in this regard he wished all those concerned a great degree of success.
The miller said that the arrangement with Venezuela is timely and is a ‘shot in the arm’ of the rice industry that has been experiencing less than favourable times.
The miller explained that he does not wish to come over as the prophet of dooms but as someone with years of experience in this respect he is weighing all the options and hopes that the right formula can be found in the arrangement.
The miller is not sure what criteria will be used in selecting the millers and farmers to supply the 50,000 tonnes of rice, but he hopes there will be no nepotism and favouritisms when these selections are made.
Whether this deal will translate into better rice prices for farmer, the miller is not sure either and hopes that all the pros and cons are weighed, since this can turn out to be a disaster if it is not done correctly.
He said that he wants the deal to work so that both the farmers and millers can benefit in the end.
Since he believes that it is pointless for someone to be involved in business and not make a profit, and this might just mean the first sign of profit for both farmers and millers.
When Kaieteur News contacted a prominent region three rice farmer, he said that the deal is a good one and hope that millers pass down better prices to the farmers.
He also urged the GRDB to ensure that it put the necessary measures in place to ensure the deal achieves its objectives, which he thinks should be better prices for farmers.
On Wednesday night after being locked in negotiations for hours, Guyana and Venezuela inked a deal for the Spanish speaking country to source 50,000 tonnes of rice from Guyana at prices that are far superior to what this country gets from its regular buyers in Europe and elsewhere.
Venezuela has agreed to take ten thousand tonnes of white rice, at $560US per metric tonne and 40,000 tonnes of paddy at US$330 per metric tonne.
The deal was made after President Bharrat Jagdeo and Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez met in New York last month and initiated the temporary arrangement between the two South American countries.

Latest News

Rice industry cautiously optimistic about Guyana/Venezuela rice deal

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 7th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Berbice ease past Demerara in low-scoring match

Upper Demerara suffer 8 wicket loss as Lakeram...

Joshi is the new National 2025 Women’s Chess...

Kares Engineering renews title sponsorship of One...

Harpy Eagles looking to put old rivals to bed,...

Windsor Estates reigns supreme at AmCham Golf...

Features/Columnists

The geography of pettiness

The U.S. “Joining” the Commonwealth: an unreasonable expectation

Police violence – life is cheap in Linden

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Rice industry cautiously optimistic about Guyana/Venezuela rice deal

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 7th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]