Ministers Robert Persaud and Carl Samuda engage in discussion
The Agriculture Ministry has announced that Guyana has committed to sell some 55,000 tonnes of rice to Jamaica this year.
This announcement comes days after Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud returned from Kingston, Jamaica, where he had discussions with Jamaican Commerce Minister Carl Samuda and other stakeholders.
Guyana Times International understands that the objectives of the meetings were to ensure that Guyana improves supply to the Jamaica market; reduces delays in delivery, and addresses other related issues of the rice trade.
Persaud led a delegation of officials and rice exporters to meet the Jamaican minister of investment, industry and commerce and rice importers, on Friday last.
During that meeting, Minister Samuda outlined some of the problems that country was facing with Guyana’s supply of rice. These include uncertainty of supply, arbitrary increases of prices, and unreliability of suppliers.
Key stakeholders of the rice industries in Jamaica and Guyana meet in the reggae island
Minister Persaud explained that recent delays were due to the unseasonal period of rainfall, and that the pricing of rice in Guyana is based on demand and supply dynamics. He stated that the Agriculture Ministry (MoA) and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) are both willing to “deal” with those suppliers that are guilty of unreliability of supply as provided by the laws of Guyana.
He assured Jamaica officials of Guyana’s continued supply to the Caricom rice market, and moreso, the largest buyer in that market — Jamaica. The meeting agreed that there should be communication between GRDB and the relevant section of the Jamaican Ministry of Investment, Industry and Commerce, so that the irritants in the rice trade can be addressed in a timely manner.
Discussions ended with both sides giving assurances of continued support in “the spirit of the Single Market”.
Meanwhile, at the second meeting with the Customs Authority of Jamaica, the concern was raised for a “pre-clearance facility” with copies of the documents to commence the clearance of the rice shipped from Guyana. The Customs authority indicated that this is possible, and that a mechanism can be put in place.
As such, they urged that a “paper trail” be established, and proposed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Agriculture Ministry of Guyana and the Investment, Industry and Commerce Ministry of Jamaica be signed to facilitate this agreement.
At this meeting, officials of both sides were urged to increase their vigilance in all trade activities between the two countries.
A meeting was later held with the Jamaica Bureau of Standards (JBS), where it was agreed that a draft agreement between GRDB and the JBS would be developed, so that GRDB will do the sampling and testing in Guyana on behalf of the JBS.
This will ensure the fast tracking of the inspection process on arrival of Guyana’s rice in Jamaica. It was further agree that GRDB will offer the JBS assistance in the form of training of its officials in the testing of rice.
Meanwhile, despite heavy rains threatening rice crops in vulnerable areas, local authorities have predicted that the first crop will not be significantly affected, and that all markets will be satisfied.
Guyana provides more than 50 per cent of the rice fellow Caricom states use. In 2010, Jamaica imported some 44,882 tonnes of rice from Guyana.
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