Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 05, 2014 News
Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has said that everything is going according to plan with the rice deal between Guyana and Panama. Ramsammy, who spoke to Kaieteur News yesterday, said that the first 5,000 tonnes is being packaged for the first shipment. He said that this process will be completed within the new week.
According to Ramsammy, the shipping process had to be arranged by Panamanian authorities. “There were specifications and the Panamanian officials had travelled to Guyana to ensure that everything went smoothly,” Ramsammy told Kaieteur News.
The Minister said that within a couple days the shipment would leave Guyana. The inking of the deal will see Guyana supplying 5,000 tonnes of rice to Panama each month.
Noting that Guyana has been working with Panama to ensure timely shipments, Ramsammy noted that obtaining the packaged rice is not a problem.
The Minister said that for the packaging of 5,000 tonnes, “we have the rice available and packaging arrangements in place”.
In August the deal was announced by the Minster and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB). The deal was signed by Panama’s Vice-Minister of Agriculture, Estebana Giron Dias, and the GRDB General Manager, Jagnarine Singh.
The agreement was signed at the Office of the Minister of Agriculture, in Panama City, and followed a meeting in Colombia between the Presidents of Guyana and Panama.
With this new deal for 2014, Guyana is expected to export between 475,000 and 500,000 tonnes this year and to reach about 550,000 tonnes in 2015.
The actual export target for 2014 was 460,000 tonnes. The export figure in 2013 was 394,000 tonnes.
Ramsammy said that Guyana’s exports for 2014 will surpass the 300,000-tonne mark by the end of August – the earliest time it has ever been able to reach this level.
While production levels could likely reach the 2020 target of 600,000 tons this year, Government’s effort has ensured that the local market expansion programme is keeping a close upward trajectory with increased production.
According to Dr. Ramsammy, Guyana was able to secure the Panamanian market following a meeting in Colombia. The team of negotiators comprised President Donald Ramotar; Dr. Ramsammy; General Manager of Guyana Rice Development Board, Jagnarine Singh; General Secretary of the Rice Producers Association (RPA) Dharamkumar Seeraj; Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, and Government officials.
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