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Essequibo Rice Miller sues GRDB for almost $100M
An Essequibo rice miller is suing the Guyana Rice Development Board, (GRDB) for almost $100 million.
The lawsuit is over an alleged breach in agreement between the GRDB and Essequibo rice miller, Arnold Sankar of Arnold Sankar and Sons, Rice Mills.
According to the motion which was filed by Attorney –at- Law Anil Nandlall and Associates, under the agreement the GRBD had promised to repay Sankar for the purchase of paddy.
In the 15 point endorsement of claim, the Plaintiff (Arnold Sankar and Sons, Rice Mills) stated that the GRDB requested the company purchase as much paddy available on the market at a price of between $3000 to $3,300 per bag.
The Rice Development Board had guaranteed, promised and agreed that they would purchase the entire said paddy from the Plaintiff at the price of four hundred and ninety United States dollars (US$490) per metric tonne.
At the time of purchasing the paddy, the Milling Company noted the GRDB supplied them with $60 million. The cheque of $60 million was handed over to some of the farmers from whom the paddy was purchased under the aforesaid agreement.
However, the sum advanced, the plaintiff claimed, was not enough to pay for all the paddy purchased.
“And this was known to the officers of the defendant, who accepted and acknowledged delivery of all paddy purchased by the Plaintiff under this agreement.
Pursuant to and as a part performance of the said agreement, the officers of the Defendant requested the Plaintiff to fully pay the remainder to the farmers and promised, undertook and agreed to repay the Plaintiff from the proceeds to be received from the sale of the said paddy by the Defendant.”
Acting and relying upon the undertaking, the Plaintiff therefore purchased 32,622 bags of paddy, equivalent to 2121 metric tonnes, at the purchase price of $90,749,215.
“And acting and relying upon the said warranty, guarantee, promise, undertaking and agreement, the Plaintiff applied for and obtained overdraft facilities from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, (GBTI) Limited and from that facility the Plaintiff paid to the unpaid farmers the balance of $30,749,215.
In breach of the said agreement, on the 5th May, 2015, the Defendant only accepted delivery of 813 metric tonnes of paddy, leaving a balance of 1308 metric tonnes of paddy.
The value of the 813 metric tonnes of paddy was the sum of $21,447,467.
The Plaintiff applied for and obtained overdraft facilities from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited and from that facility the Plaintiff paid to the unpaid farmers the balance of $30,749,215.
But in breach of the said agreement, the Miller said that on May, 5 2015, the Defendant only accepted delivery of 813 metric tonnes of paddy, leaving a balance of 1308 metric tonnes of paddy.
The value of the 813 metric tonnes of paddy was the sum of $21,447,467. “The Plaintiff’s several requests to the Defendant to accept delivery of the remaining 1308 metric tonnes of paddy were futile.
As a result, the Plaintiff was forced to sell the 1308 metric tonnes of paddy to Rice Inc. of Water Street, Georgetown, at the price of $225 per metric tonne because the paddy was on the verge of spoiling.”
And due to the aforesaid breach, the Plaintiff suffered loss and damage.
The plaintiff therefore claims from the Defendant the following the sum of $99,670,273.
They are therefore claiming interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of filing to the date of judgment and thereafter at the rate of four percent (4%) per annum until fully paid.
“The costs fixed in the sum of $249,363 such further or other reliefs as the Court may deem just,” the legal document outlined.
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Arnold Sankar never pay rice farmers $3,000 or $3,300 per a bag of paddy. Rice farmers should now demand that he do so based on this news release. This is a clear situation of how farmers are being raped by rice millers.