Improvements in rice variety, yields and production have led to an increase in rice exports for 2024.
During his end-of-year press conference on Monday, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha disclosed that 425,490 tonnes of rice and rice products were exported to thirty countries.
โDue to continued improvements in rice production practices and milling efficiency, Guyana continues to be a strong competitor in the world export market for rice,โ the Minister said, noting that the country earned US$254,036,050 from exports.
Total rice production for 2024 is 725,200 tonnes, with a yield of 6.6 tonnes per hectare.
โThis is the highest ever recorded,โ Minister Mustapha remarked.
Production increased over the past four years. In 2023, rice production was 653,706 tonnes, 2022 recorded 610,595 and 559,789 in 2021.
The rice industry has also recorded other achievements including the payment of $437 million owed to 27 farmers and millers for rice sold to Venezuela and Panama in 2015, and the increasing capacity of seed paddy facilities across the country.
Moreover, the Government has reversed the increased land rental and drainage and irrigation charges, expended $1.850 billion to help farmers purchase fertiliser, pesticides and other necessities from 2022 to 2024, and provided training to 5,221 farmers, Mustapha outlined.
