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Guyana to export 200,000 tons of rice to Venezuela

Apr 15, 2013 News

Government is hoping to export 200,000 tons of rice to Venezuela this year, mirroring what was exported to the Spanish state in 2012, according to Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy.
Ramsammy said that the agreement for the sale of rice to Venezuela has been concluded but is yet to be signed. He enlightened that the week after Venezuela’s National Elections, a team from Guyana will be going to the neighboring republic.
Dr. Ramsammy said that while the agreement ensures that no less than 200,000 tons of rice is exported, it does not have a ceiling as to how much more could be added to that amount.
The exportation of Guyana’s rice to Venezuela comes under the PetroCaribe Energy Cooperation Agreement. It sees Guyana buying fuel from and selling rice to Venezuela.
Keeping the price agreed upon for the rice away from the spotlight, the Minister said it is the same as last year’s and the farmers are aware of the price. He added that Guyana gets a favourable price from Venezuela.
In an interview with General Manager of Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Jagnarine Singh last month, he related that GRDB has been in the forefront negotiating the price for Government. These negotiations result in farmers being paid US$520 per metric ton, up from US$330 per metric ton at the start of the agreement.
Last year, Guyana produced 422,000 tons of rice. Two-thirds of that amount was exported to Venezuela under this agreement. The GRDB expects rice production for this year to surpass the 2012 figure.
Explaining how the PetroCaribe Agreement works for the two countries, Dr. Ramsammy said that it is not a case where the transaction involves the trade of rice and fuel. He stated that there is a particular agency that sells oil to Guyana and another agency that buys Guyana’s rice on behalf of the Venezuelan Government.
The company that purchases Guyana’s rice makes an agreement with the Government of Guyana to pay the Venezuelan Government. The money is then discounted at the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry then gives GRDB money to pay the millers from whom the rice is purchased locally.
Dr. Ramsammy, who could not provide too much information on the fuel aspect of the transactions, said that Guyana probably gets a supply of fuel every two weeks.
“Every year we spend like US$600M in oil. We may sell Venezuela US$200M worth of rice so we would still owe them. Two separate transactions…we reconcile two or three times per year with the discounts,” he added.

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