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Guyana moves to recover lucrative Venezuelan rice market
-overseas missions told to sell more rice, rum
Guyana’s missions abroad have been given the express mandate to push the country’s local products aggressively.
According to President David Granger yesterday, there is a renewed focus on penetrating
Guyana is hoping to recover its rice market in Venezuela, President David Granger said yesterday.
new markets.
Among some of the more well-known products will be the country’s rice and rum products.
Granger was fielding questions yesterday from reporters during his weekly televised programme, ‘The Public Interest’, at the Ministry of the Presidency.
Since taking office last year, the new coalition had shaken up the Foreign Service with several ambassadors and High Commissioners replaced, including for key postings like the US, Canada, China and the United Kingdom.
Questioned yesterday, the President admitted that new diplomats have all been given tough assignments of finding new markets.
While several persons have been announced for postings, the accreditation process that would have allowed them to start their jobs, has not gone smoothly.
For example, former Washington-based Ambassador, Bayney Karran, who has been assigned to China, is still to start his duties. So too is former Parliamentarian and Attorney-at-Law Clarissa Riehl who has been named High Commissioner to Canada.
It was only last week that Guyana’s new Ambassador to Venezuela, Cheryl Miles, was able to meet with that country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro to formalize her posting there.
According to Granger, a new direction for the diplomatic missions is important as Guyana continue to remain reliant on the traditional exports of sugar, rice, gold, timber and fish.
The Foreign Service is expected to sell more of Guyana, he said.
Last year, Guyana lost its rice market in Venezuela after that country, amidst icy relations with this country, refused to renew a five-year-old agreement.
It had rocked the local rice market with Government scrambled to find new markets in Latin America.
The new Ambassador to Venezuela along with Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, and Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge, has been asked to look into recovering the Venezuela rice market, President Granger disclosed yesterday.
However, the official was quick to point out that it would be up to Venezuela to renew the agreement in which that country exchanged oil for rice and paddy shipments.
Rice has been a major earner for the country but farmers have been taking a beating with prices and markets.
With regard to tougher mandates for Ambassadors and High Commissioners, the President made it clear that he expects that their jobs to be more than just processing passport and birth certificate applications.
Granger also batted for the new appointed diplomats, noting that many of them have tremendous experience and expertise.
“And they will be able to do much more than the consular work that has bogged down previous Ambassadors,” he said.
“So it may not look like a new foreign service but I think the motivation of our new representatives to open the markets will be greater than in the past.”
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