Cuba to receive rice from Guyana after 40 years

Cuba is set to receive its first shipment of rice from Guyana after 40 years and a visiting delegation from the country’s import agency for rice is currently here to finalise the agreement with Guyanese company Nand Persaud and Company Limited.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the team from the agency called ALIMPORT comprises of Maria Cristina Ramos Perdomo and Reynaldo Aguirre Labora who will be here until September 26, 2017.

Less than two months ago a Rice Contract between the local firm and the Cuban State Company was formally inked in Havana, Cuba.

Guyana’s Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba, Halim Majeed has described the visit as a means to further strengthen the country’s economic relations with the Spanish speaking nation of Cuba.

According to the Ambassador, Nand Persaud and Company Limited is expected to ship 15,000 metric tonnes of rice to Cuba in the months of September and October this year.

Based on the agreement between the two companies, Nand Persaud & Company Limited will also continue to supply rice to Cuba in 2018 as the company prepares to draft an Investment Proposal to set up a rice-milling plant and warehouse in the Port Mariel Free Zone.

Presently, Guyana enjoys a close relationship with Cuba since the 1970s and early 1980s.

However, the two countries officially established diplomatic ties in 1972 with Cuba agreeing to provide medical supplies, doctors, and medical training to Guyana, an initiative that still exists.