Guyana records 40% decline in rice production due to devastating May-June floods

− India assisted local millers to offset export shortfall – High Commissioner

In light of reports that the present rice crop has recorded a 40 per cent decline due to the devastating May-June floods, Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa on Thursday disclosed that assistance was given to several local rice millers to meet their export demands.

According to the Indian diplomat, in addition to providing support to the Guyana Government, his office has also been assisting many rice producers and major millers to get their equipment from India. More recently, however, he said assistance was given to fulfil rice export orders.
“We are working with many players in the rice sector – big rice mills. We have, recently… assisted them in getting supplies from India because, obviously, there was some shortage of rice in fulfilling their various export commitments. So, they had to fill that shortfall by importing rice from India. We assisted them in that,” Srinivasa related.

He did not, however, reveal who the local millers were that received assistance from India.
Guyana Times however, made several inquiries with major players in local rice industry as to the reason behind the shortfalls. But many of them including President of Rice Producers Association (RPA) Leakha Rambrich, and Head of the Guyana Rice Exporters and Millers Association (GREMA) Rajendra Persaud, as well as rice millers were unaware of any shortfalls in the last crops.
However, Persaud explained that at least one rice miller with major export markets had run short of supplies to meet increasing demands from existing markets especially in neighbouring Venezuela.

“I think the demand in Venezuela is really high and the prices are high all over including Brazil. So, they might have looked at India as an alternative [source to secure rice to fulfil this rising demand],” he stated.
But according to the GREMA Head, outsourcing rice is nothing new for local exporters.
“A lot of the millers now, we normally buy rice from other [countries] to trade… These are things we all do from time to time so I don’t think it’s a big issue,” he posited.
In fact, Persaud, who is a major rice exporter himself, being the Chairman of the Nand Persaud Group, related that they had previously sourced rice from neighbouring Suriname and even the United States to export to other countries.
Nevertheless, the GREMA President noted that the current crop will be a poor one due to the recent floods that destroyed most large-scale agricultural crops and livestock across the country. He added that rice exporters will now have to figure out how to meet the export demands and which of their respective markets they will have to prioritise.
Meanwhile, the RPA President, Rambrich, told this newspaper that the devastating May-June floods have resulted in a 40 per cent shortfall in rice production from the current crop.
“That will put in dent in our market… And to be honest, there is nothing we can do to address it because there is not enough raw material, paddy to manufacturer rice to export,” Rambrich indicated.
He further explained that with this anticipated shortfall, exporters cannot take in new contracts to supply rice.
“All we can do now is sustain the present contracts that are there and we’re hoping that from the next crop, we can have a good crop and we can be able to enter into new contracts. But for now, we will work with existing contracts and we will not be taking on any new contract to supply [rice],” the RPA Head said.
Rambrich, nonetheless, pointed out that rice production should return to normal capacity for the next crop, barring disasters.
Following the unprecedented floods in all 10 regions that were caused by intense rainfall, President Dr Irfaan Ali last month announced over $7.8 billion in relief to affected farmers in various categories.
In the rice sector, 50,000 acres of farmlands of some 2000 farmers were directly impacted by the floods across the country.
The relief included $80,000 per acre for rice that was ready to harvest but was lost in the floods; $65,000 per acre for rice sowed and lost in the autumn crop; and $45,000 per acre for land that was completely prepared but was not sowed.
In addition to this support to farmers, Government will be distributing 60,000 bags of seed paddy. This assistance to rice farmers amounted to more than $3.2 billion.
Government rolled out the distribution of the relief last weekend in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), where in excess of $1 billion of the total relief sum will be given to rice farmers in the ancient county.
During the distribution exercises last week that were spearheaded by various Government Ministers, many of the farmers were grateful for the financial assistance which they say will significantly help to get into the next crop.