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Rice Board unaware of paddy smuggling to Suriname -refutes “plague” report of ambassador
Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) yesterday categorically rejected statements in Suriname’s De Ware Tijd—dwtonline– quoting its Ambassador to Guyana, Ebu Jones, that an insect plague has broken out in the rice sector.
“GRDB noted that some farmers’ fields in Region Six were affected by paddy bugs during the first crop of 2019. Those paddy bug incidences were dealt with by farmers. Paddy bugs are pests that affect paddy production globally.”
According to the board, 98 percent of the crop has been harvested at the end of May 2019 producing some 519,470 tonnes of paddy at an average yield of six tonnes per hectare compared to 508,195 tonnes for the first crop of 2018.
Dwtonline also quoted Ambassador Jones as stating that “paddy is smuggled from Guyana to Suriname”.
“The Board noted that it is unaware of smuggling of paddy to Suriname. In fact, rice has been and is being exported to Suriname legally. For the period 2014-2018, some 3,535 tonnes of rice and rice by-products were exported to Suriname.”
Last year, 233 tonnes were exported.
As at last month, 98 tonnes of parboiled rice were exported.
Overall exports for the first quarter of 2019 were 103,024 tonnes compared to 49,629 tonnes for the same period of 2018.
The Board noted that despite challenges, the rice industry has been resilient and is dealing with the challenges as they present themselves.
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