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Guyana is seeking new export frontiers as rice production increases – PPP
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has come out in full praise of the rice farmers for their efforts and increased levels of production culminating in Guyana recording its highest production in history when rice production surpassed 400,000 tons in 2013.
The increased level of rice production in Guyana, however, has to be taken in contrast with the limited market available for exports. As such the government has signaled its intention to increase and expand into new frontiers.
The PPP, through its General Secretary Clement Rohee, has said that “the government and GRDB will be engaging Belize, Guatemala and Brazil to purchase rice from Guyana. The Minister of Agriculture will be leaving shortly
for Latin America to pursue markets in that region.”
Rohee further said the PPP is hopeful that the situation in Venezuela becomes normal so export to that country can commence.
Rohee explained that Haiti’s market requires 100,000 metric tons of rice and negotiations for Guyana to supply that market are ongoing.
According to Rohee, as a matter of policy, negotiations have been ongoing between the export authorities in Guyana for rice and the private sector in Haiti. “In fact I think it was some time ago when President Ramotar was at a Caricom meeting in Haiti that we did meet with one of the major rice importers in Haiti and he expressed a tremendous amount of optimism about export of rice expanding in Haiti.
“Haiti has a large population so that market has great prospects. I can’t say exactly when the deal was signed, whether it has been completed in terms of negotiations but I can say that it is a market that has great potential for our exports.”
Rohee said that the government will be facilitating the negotiations “after which the government recedes and the private sector negotiates prices.”
Speaking to the economic perception that Haiti will need a significant reduction in the price of the exported rice, Rohee said that “they may want that but they have to negotiate with the manufacturers over here; it doesn’t mean they will get that, you also have to take into consideration what the millers over here want as well, and that is why they will have to sit down and negotiate the question of price.”
The General Secretary said that efforts are being made to search for more markets and greater market penetration “we also are working very steadfastly to address the question of Phytosanitary measures or barriers that countries might want to raise in respect to export of rice and other factors, so I think greater market access in nontraditional markets is one of the major challenges that we are faced with which we are working assiduously to address.”
Questioned about when these new markets are going to be on stream given the increased production and stockpile of rice that has been amassed as well as the greater influx expected to come soon, Rohee said that “we need to just work aggressively for greater market access, traditional markets, nontraditional markets.
Work with the Venezuelan Government to ensure that the situation there allows for the importation of rice under the Guyana Venezuela agreement [rice for oil] and so forth.” He further said that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and the Minister of Agriculture are working hard to address this situation.
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