Gov’t continues to engage millers on prices

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, along with a team of senior officers from the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), met with millers to continue engagements as paddy prices for the second crop continue to fluctuate across the country. 

With the second crop of the year ongoing, which is expected to yield over 800,000 tonnes, farmers continue to seek the government’s intervention to secure higher prices for their paddy.

During the meeting, Minister Mustapha said that the GRDB has been monitoring the global rice production and market trends. He also said that it was in the best interest of the sector for farmers to benefit from best prices and that the government is actively working to reduce the cost of production, adding that approximately $2 billion was expended to procure fertilizer for farmers for 2025.

While acknowledging that global prices vary, the millers noted that global markets are becoming fewer and more competitive with large producers of rice like India having huge quantities of rice on the market.

India’s exports accounts for around 40% of global rice exports, and expected to export 22.5 million tons this year.

According to Reuters, India’s rice stocks in government warehouses climbed over 14% from a year earlier to a record high for early September with state reserves of rice, including unmilled paddy, totaling a record 48.2 million metric tons as of September 1, far exceeding the government’s target of 13.5 million tons for July 1.

Furthermore, as of September 1st, the Filipino Government implemented a 60-day import halt on rice adding to woes of global rice exporters. The Philippines is the world’s largest rice importer.

Minister Mustapha said that the government has been investing in research, inputs and critical infrastructure to support rice production in Guyana. He said while there are challenges globally as it relates to prices, farmers should be able to benefit better prices.

Some millers said that they were losing given the current world market prices because of their cost of production. While offers were made for the GRDB to work along with millers to assess the cost of production, some millers maintained that the cost of production cannot be the determining factor when determining the price farmers receive for paddy.

One miller also said while one price is set in a contract, those prices change based on the current market price at the time the rice is sold and in order to maintain that market, those prices have to be accepted.

Minister Mustapha said that the government will continue to work with stakeholders to come up with immediate and long-term solutions to all issues faced in the sector.

Last week, H.E. President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, met with rice farmers from the Corentyne Coast reminded farmers that while government investments have boosted the sector through new high-yielding varieties and critical infrastructure, external pressures remain. He explained that global market conditions, particularly surpluses from major producers like India, have pushed down rice prices. In response, the Head of State said that the government will move to establish modern storage facilities across all rice-producing regions to strengthen resilience and give farmers greater flexibility in storing their paddy over longer period of time (Ministry of Agriculture press release)