Increasing demand from Mexico has driven the significant growth in rice exports to Latin America, according to head of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Nizam Hassan, who has also said rice exports to Cuba are expected to increase by 200% this year.
Hassan told Stabroek News that the demand from the Latin American market, which has resulted in millers paying better prices to farmers, has led to exports to Europe declining.
Last year, rice exports totalled 539,386 metric tonnes, which earned US$201,034,834.
The Latin American market imported 263,957 metric tonnes, for which US$96,293,748 was earned, compared with the 155,630 metric tonnes imported in 2016, which earned US$59,001,264.
