Guyana eyes Ghana rice market

Guyana is currently awaiting a response from the Ghanaian government on the rice samples that were sent to Accra pending the formalisation of a 120,000-tonne rice deal with the West African country.

Minister of Agriculture Dr Leslie Ramsammy made the disclosure of the anticipated rice market at a press conference on Saturday but did not name the country.

Stabroek News understands that Georgetown has been in talks with Accra since the beginning of the year trying to work out a large-scale market at competitive prices.

According to the preliminary terms of the agreement, 10,000 tonnes of rice will be shipped on a monthly basis.

The African market is very interested in the type of rice grown locally, the extra-long grain. Stabroek News was told that a variety of rice samples were sent to Ghana, but the market will most likely be at the higher end with rice breakage of 5%.

However, not wanting to lose out on any potential markets in that region, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) also sent samples of 5-25% breakage which will help to regulate what the price brackets are for the finalized market.

Stabroek News spoke with Deputy General Manager of the GRDB Ricky Ramraj, but he could not confirm at what price Guyana would likely be selling rice to the African market. He said that the deal is still being worked out as well as what countries would be involved.

According to Ramraj, other countries in West Africa have expressed interest in buying Guyana rice.