New markets open up for grain

Mar 10, 2017 News

…during GRDB’s first business mission to Mexico
Over the past three days, the first ever business delegation of grain producers and exporters from Guyana was able to successfully participate in the largest trade fair for food retailers in Latin America and the Caribbean. This

The Guyana Rice Development Board’s booth in full action at the Expo ANTAD 2017

has led to the opening up for new markets for grain.
Joint efforts by the Mexican Embassy here and the Guyana Rice Development Board saw the Guyana team having access to the usually anticipated Expo ANTAD 2017.
This drew more than 50,000 visitors from 40 countries around the world to the Expo Guadalajara facilities in Mexico, providing significant new opportunities to tap into the Mexican market and other destinations.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, GRDB representatives manned a dedicated booth, which displayed samples of Guyanese produce and provided information about the rice and paddy sector in Guyana to professional purchasers.
Contacts which were established even prior to the trade fair made it possible for the Guyanese delegation to have business meetings with entities such as Oxxo, which has the largest chain of convenience stores in Mexico. It manages an average of 14,000 locations.
The Guyana team also met with representatives from Commercial Mexicana and Soriana. These are some of the leading brands in food retailing in Mexico. They operate in excess of 650 supermarkets in more than 200 cities.
Rice and paddy consumption in Mexico exceeds one million tons per year, the Agriculture Ministry said.
It noted too that Mexico imports more than 80 percent of its rice and paddy consumption.
It was only on March 1, 2017, that the Mexican government gazetted the authorization to import, 150,000 tons of rice and paddy, duty free, before the end of December 2017.
Additionally, in order to further expand business contacts, GRDB representatives and other Guyanese exporters visited Verde Valle, the largest rice packaging plant in Western Mexico. Business conversations were also had with the senior leadership of the Mexican Rice Council, which is the single largest association of rice and paddy importers in Mexico.
Beyond Mexico, the Guyanese business delegation was also able to established contacts with rice traders in Central American countries such as Nicaragua and Panamá.
“Phytosanitary procedures and business contacts for Guyanese rice and paddy made significant progress as a result of the official visit by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo to Mexico in October 2015,” the Agriculture Ministry said.

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