Improved rice production forecast for 2018 –ties established with Cuba

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Good news is on the horizon for Guyana’s rice industry which bounced back in 2017 with an approximate 12.7 percent increase in output when compared to 2016.

Nand Persaud and Company established a business relationship with Cuba, shipping rice there during 2017 and is expected to acquire a larger share of the Cuban market this year.  This is estimated at 75, 000 tonnes as disclosed by Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba Halim Majeed.

“Hence their consideration of establishing a rice milling plant at Port Mariel [Cuba] and as I understand it, this will not only produce rice for Cuba but for export to other Central American countries,” said Ambassador Majeed during an exclusive interview with the Department of Public Information.

The Ambassador noted too that the company has indicated to Cuban authorities their intent to set up a warehouse and a fertilizer blending plant. There are some other initiatives, which the Ambassador said are in the embryonic stages.

The improvement in rice yield for 2017 was due mainly to an additional 14, 000 hectares planted for that year’s spring crop and a further 74, 481 hectares planted in the autumn crop.

These developments, according to the Government, were attributed to farmers’ renewed confidence in their ability to access new markets.

The private sector’s attendance at the Havana International Fair, in Cuba, in the latter part of 2017 also helped to further stimulate investment in the industry.

 

 

By: Stacy Carmichael

 

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