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Rice miller slams ‘secret’ GRDB deal with Jamaica
The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) earlier this month managed to secure a three-year agreement to sell rice to Jamaican market, but the deal has been slammed by local millers.
Guyana has signed a three-year deal with two Jamaican companies to sell rice.
According to Turhane Doerga, Co-Chairman of the Rice Producers Association Action Committee (RPAAC), the deal will effectively cause farmers to receive just $2,200 per bag of paddy, way below their break-even prices.
According to documents, two deals for a total of 80,000 tonnes annually were inked on March 1.
One was with Musson (Jamaica) Limited of Spanish Town Road, Kingston. Musson agreed to buy 40,000 tonnes of white, cargo and parboiled rice per annum.
The GRDB agreement explained Musson is one of two Jamaican importers that it selected to work with and has a track record of handling imports from Guyana. The company has financial and commercial stability and the ability to ensure contracts are paid for on a timely basis, the agreement said.
Musson’s deal will see 10,000 tonnes purchased every quarter. The company will be entering purchase contracts with registered GRDB exporters. The agreement said that after the three years, the deal can be renewed for a further two, at the option of the buyer.
Signing the deals on behalf of GRDB was General Manager, Nizam Hassan.
The other deal for 40,000 tonnes annually is Jamaica Rice Milling Company Limited.
Turhane Doerga
Guyana has been scrambling to find alternative markets after Venezuela refused to renew a five year oil-for-rice deal amidst a border controversy. Jamaica is not a new market.
Doerga, a retired executive of Alesie Rice, said that the millers and others only got a whiff on the deal after it was circulated.
“Guyana was never officially told about it. In any case, when we did the calculations, it appears that what farmers will be forced to pay is $2,200 per bag,” Doerga said.
Guyana has been breaking rice production records in recent years reaching 687,000 tonnes last year. Rice is one of the top foreign currency earners for Guyana but farmers have been complaining of low prices despite their bountiful crops. There have been accusations in the past of corruption in the rice deals with GRDB.
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