Agitation continues to grow in the rice sector as farmers have started to reap with little hope that paddy prices will be high enough to offset their debts.
However, some millers and exporters say that developments in the international market gives hope that prices can increase in the not too distant future. Currently, farmers are receiving low prices for their paddy compared to previous years.
Head of the Rice Producers Association (RPA) Dharamkumar Seeraj told Stabroek News that based on feedback from regions 2 and 6, paddy is fetching between $1,500 and $2,200 per bag. The figures are significantly less than the $3,000 per bag price that Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had stated at the Rice Conference held in July that was aimed at addressing some of the frustrations within the industry.
Seeraj told Stabroek News that the recent protests by farmers outside the ministry
