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…due to delays in payments from local, overseas buyers
Delay in payments for rice supplied to both locally and externally have amounted to over $1B, the Ministry of Agriculture has said.
Briefing the media on the state of affairs of the ministry on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha said initial checks reveal a delay in payments of commission to the Guyana Rice Development Board by millers. At the end of July, millers owed $353,925,513. There is also a delay in receipt of payment for rice supplied to Panama totaling $1,184,198,400. Mustapha said the entity has a current liability of $4.7M. “Its revenue stream can be adversely affected by the ongoing delay in payments from Panama. My ministry will act immediately to reverse these situations so that these debts can be paid from Panama. We will also meet with the millers to have them work on payments for the millers as soon as possible,” the minister said.
In relation to the paddy bug infestation in Essequibo, Mustapha told the media that he has instructed the GRDB to have officers on the ground to offer assistance to farmers. “We have also set up a paddy bug hotline where persons can call and get information and lodge complaints about paddy bug infestation,” the minister noted.
