Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
First Venezuela rice shipment finally sets sail
The loading of the ‘Pacific Clipper’ at the John Fernandes Wharf yesterday
By Brushell Blackman
After months of delay, the first shipment of paddy is poised to sail to Venezuela by tomorrow. Yesterday the media was invited to witness the loading of the ‘Pacific Clipper’, a Panamanian-registered vessel with a capacity to carry six thousand tonnes of rice, at the John Fernandes Wharf.
General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board, Jagnarine Singh, told Kaieteur News that the current shipment which is exclusively paddy represents the first in ten shipments destined for the Spanish-speaking country.
He said that this shipment of 5,000 tonnes of paddy, was supplied by two millers and a rice farmer. Saj Rice Mill supplied 3,000 tonnes while Ramesh Ramlakhan, a rice miller from the Essequibo Coast, provided 1,600 tonnes. The President of the Rice Producers Association provided 400 tonnes.
According to Singh, 80 percent of payment for the shipment has already been made to the suppliers of the paddy. He said that at th end of the loading and the ironing out of the technicalities related to the shipment, the outstanding amount will be paid. He said that this shipment is worth an estimated US$1.65M and should take about five days to reach Venezuela provided there is favourable tide.
Singh said that the vessel should return to Guyana within 15 days and that the second shipment should be ready to leave by the second week in January next year.
Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud, said that although he was not overly concerned about the delay in the shipment, he is satisfied that the first shipment is ready to sail. Addressing the reasons for the delays, Persaud said that these were not solely attributable to Guyana. According to him, the time that was taken by the Venezuelan officials to visit Guyana to inspect standards, coupled with docking issues in Guyana contributed to the long delays.
However, the Minister said that he is hopeful that this shipment will ensure that reasonable prices are passed down to farmers who have been experiencing low rice prices. He said that some millers have made a commitment to do such and is urging others to follow suit.
Early this year President Bharrat Jagdeo brokered a deal with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after the local rice industry encountered unprecedented problems.
The deal, which was signed early in the year, saw the South American country sourcing from Guyana, 50,000 tonnes of rice, 10,000 tonnes of white rice and 40,000 tonnes of paddy at between US$330 per tonne and US$560 per metric tonne respectively.
The deal between the two countries will see Guyana earning US$18.8M.
Additionally, President Jagdeo was forced to inject $400M to mitigate some of the problems the industry was experiencing.
Back then farmers were receiving $2000 per bag of paddy, which they said meant that they were not even recovering the production cost, let a lone making a profit.
Minister Persaud said that there should be a trickle down to the rice farmers. He insisted that the millers should be in a position to pay the farmers better.
And Consular officer in the Venezuelan embassy, Carlos Pestano said that the rice deal is the first in what could be an expanded trade agreement. He said that it is now rice but that this could expand to include sugar and other products.
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