Rice farmers have harvested 25% of the first crop so far which amounts to roughly 90, 000 tonnes.
Stabroek News was told that over two million bags of paddy were harvested even as the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is working to finalise arrangements to export rice to Venezuela under the PetroCaribe Accord. The GRDB currently has 47 applications to supply rice and paddy under the US$120 million deal between Guyana and Venezuela.
The terms of the contract allow small and large scale millers to move paddy and rice based on a percentage of paddy purchased from farmers. Stabroek News was told that the GRDB is utilising a quota system to determine how much of the Venezuelan market millers would qualify for. For example, millers who
