Amidst recent reports surfacing that a shipment of 70 metric tonnes of White Cinderella rice from Guyana had been confiscated in Jamaica after it was found unsuitable for human consumption, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is apparently being sidelined by Jamaican authorities with regard to obtaining information about this allegation.
That’s the word of the General Manager of the GRDB, Nizam Hassan, who on Tuesday told reporters that the allegation was made known to the GRDB via the local media. Since then, attempts by the GRDB to verify the facts about this situation have proved futile.
The GRDB Head stated that the only thing that his agency could do after this failed attempt to seek an answer or clarification into the matter was to speak with the local supplier of the rice in question.
“We then contacted the supplier of the rice, because we knew the supplier. The supplier of the rice informed us that the buyer, that he has been speaking to a number of buyers and none of his buyers have said to him anything with regards to the supply. In fact, the supplier informed us that he has been fully paid for rice in question”.
He explained that more articles about the allegations were published by various media houses and as such, the GRDB attempted to make direct contact with the international buyer of the rice.
However, to date, the buyer in question did not divulge any information to the GRDB.
Hassan added that the GRDB has turned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guyana to help seek the relevant information from Jamaican authorities about this matter.
