Georgetown: The long wait to begin the 2014 shipment of paddy and rice to Venezuela is almost over. Guyanese representatives from GRDB and the Guyana Embassy in Caracas have worked diligently with officials from various Venezuelan Agencies to conclude arrangements to begin shipment of paddy and rice to Venezuela.
According to Minister of Agriculture, Leslie Ramsammy the team is now working with the rice importing authority in Venezuela to conclude purchase orders and shipping schedules and Guyana hopes to begin shipment as soon as possible, within the next two weeks depending on availability of ships and arrangements with Venezuelan Authorities. All arrangements are expected to be completed in the coming week.
Guyana and Venezuela have agreed on the amounts and price for Guyana's paddy and rice. Based on the agreements, Guyana expects to ship close to 200,000 tons at a price that is similar to last year's prices.
“I have been disappointed in the approach of millers. I had personally assured them that the Venezuelan market is secure for 2014. I assured them that the political and administrative prerequisites for resumption of shipment of paddy and rice were concluded and that logistical arrangements were the only outstanding issues to be agreed on. In such circumstances, I had asked that millers be fair in their pricing arrangements with farmers,” Ramsammy said “I met with them collectively and my staff spoke with many of them in person and on the phone. I met as many of these millers in person and spoke with them. I made public statements urging millers to be fair to farmers in terms of pricing for paddy. I am grateful to those millers who responded to my urgings. I again state clearly that I have asked GRDB to ensure that access to the Venezuelan market is prioritized for millers who are fair to farmers. I do believe that prices below $3,500 for acceptable grades are unfair to farmers and I will ensure that the GRDB gives priority to those millers who pay prices that are consistent with this view. I also have instructed the GRDB to work closely with the Bureau of Standards to regularly test the calibration of scales to ensure that farmers' paddy are being weighed accurately. In addition to certification from the Bureau, random testing of the validity of the weights will be conducted without notice. Such random testing has already begun. Where anomalies are found, we will request remedies to be put in place.”
Similarly, he said “we have once again discovered incorrect practices are utilized in the implementation of the Rice Factories Act in the calculation of bags of paddy after weighing and taking into consideration moisture and dockage (extraneous matter). This is an important issue since it affects the total payment to the farmers. I have asked for a 100% audit of all factory slips to ensure that proper calculations are being used. Where anomalies have been found, the GRDB will force corrections to be made in accordance with the law.”
Warning letters requesting corrections will be issued and where corrections are not made within 48 hours, license will be suspended until corrections are made.
In terms of payments, he said “I will urge millers to adhere to the laws of Guyana. The Rice Factories Act clearly establishes the rules of payment to farmers and I expect that these rules will be adhered to. I am ready to work with both the farmers and the millers to ensure that the rice industry continues to develop and that the risks and vulnerabilities within the rice industry are borne fairly and equally by all stakeholders. I believe that all stakeholders need to accept that there is a single rice industry and that we must respect and be fair to each other. I will be fair, but firm in ensuring that no stakeholder takes advantage of another stakeholder.”
Farmers have ensured that they invest in a significant way. Farmers will invest almost $28B this year in the rice industry. These are mostly small-scale family farmers and this is a significant investment made by ordinary citizens. They operate as private sectors and are not big business, but their collective investment is on the level of big business. They provide self-employment and employment for family members and rural community members. They must, therefore, be treated fairly.
There are about 75 millers, small and large. They also make investments. It is only right and proper that their investments are recovered. Whether it is millers or farmers, they are all business entities and each is entitled to a fair profit.
As Minister of Agriculture, Ramsammy noted that he will ensure that those things “I can do to ensure that where unfair practices are identified, whether these are deliberate or not, we will take corrective actions. These actions are not intended to be coercive. But merely to keep the playing fields level.”
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