Guyana capable of producing wheat, servicing regional market with grains – Pres Ali

…as NAMILCO opens US$8M mixing plant at Agricola

On the occasion of the National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO) opening a new mixing plant at its operational base at Agricola, East Bank Demerara, President Dr Irfaan Ali has challenged the private sector to re-engineer its business model to fit in with the Government’s plans to make Guyana a net producer and exporter of wheat and other grains.

On Wednesday, President Ali, who was on hand to give the feature address at the opening of this mixing plant, spoke of the potential for Guyana to tap into the regional demand for grains. He said: “When you look at our import for corn and soya as an input for feed production, you’re talking about a market of about US$30 million. When we look at our import for wheat, it’s about US$23 million. That is why we’re now moving to the position of being our own producer of corn and soya.
“Now, this brings a business opportunity for you,” President Ali explained. “If Guyana now becomes the prime destination for our own production of corn and soya, supplemented by corn and soya from Brazil, then we can have a major facility here that then drives up into the Caricom market. And if you add DR (Dominican Republic), then that’s a very big market in terms of feed.”
President Ali noted that this may require NAMILCO to do some re-engineering of its logistics in order to position itself to be able to service the Caribbean market. According to the President, Guyana has the potential to produce wheat, with wheat trials having already been completed.
“We’ve progressed so far. So far, we’ve concluded that wheat can successfully be grown in Guyana; now we have to upscale testing and production. What the result has shown so far is that wheat can be successfully grown,” the President said.
“Now, wheat successfully grown competitively is another part of the equation we must address our mind to. But the policy framework of the Government is to ensure that we can produce as much of the raw material here. Which would require an adjustment in your business model.”
The project is a US$8 million investment, and will see individual types of wheat being milled and stored in silos. It is expected to play a major role in Guyana’s drive to boost its food production and bring down the Caribbean’s food import bill.

Boost capacity
According to NAMILCO’s Managing Director Roopnarine Sukhai, the mixing plant facility would allow the company to boost its capacity to store wheat and flour.
“The primary components of the mixing plant include a massive mix capable of 20,000 kilograms of flour per hour, state-of-the-art ingredient feeders for the added, and flour silos (in which) we can store 700 metric tons of flour. This additional flour-storage capacity can assist us in providing flour in the event of an extended downtime,” he explained.

US companies partnering
NAMILCO is a subsidiary of United States-based Seaboard Corporation, and newly accredited US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, was on hand during the commissioning.
Praising the President Ali-led Government’s efforts to achieve food security, Theriot also noted the significance of the event as an example of US companies partnering with Guyanese.
“The partnership is an impressive example of how US companies can work with Guyanese to strengthen and diversify the economy, and promote food security in Guyana and region, and create well-paying, high-quality jobs for Americans and Guyanese alike,” Ambassador Theriot said.
NAMILCO only last year received the Guyana National Bureau of Standards’ (GNBS) certification for two of its products. The company can now use the GNBS-approved “Made in Guyana” certification mark on the packaging of its Thunderbolt wheat flour in 1kg, 2kg, 10kg, 22.5kg, 45kg sizes, and its Maid Marian self-rising flour in 1kg and 2kg sizes.
This certification mark has added to NAMILCO’s already existing ISO 9001 Certification, which was granted by SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company.
The “Made in Guyana” certification mark is a prestigious mark which was unveiled by First Lady Arya Ali at the GNBS’ National Quality Awards Ceremony in October 2021. It is a registered mark that aims to provide recognition to locally manufactured products on the local and international markets, and is a signature of quality for authentic Guyanese products. Among the requirements to become certified are that manufacturers are required to use at least 60 per cent raw materials from Guyana, and to employ 70% Guyanese staff. (G3)