Earlier today, 22 farmers and three millers from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) received approximately $437 million in outstanding payments from a 2015 rice deal with Panama.
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha while addressing those present said the former APNU/AFC government failed to work in the interest of the Guyanese farmers and millers to ensure they received the monies owned after the rice was shipped to Panama.
He also said that while in opposition, the People Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had committed to recouping the outstanding sums and supporting farmers and all players in Guyana’s agriculture sector – something which it has been delivering.
A few months ago, the Government of Guyana through the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and the Ministry of Legal Affairs settled the matter with the Panamanian officials, after which, the outstanding sum for rice shipped to Panama was transferred to the GRDB accounts for disbursement.
Only in October, government paid out some $1.5 billion to 19 rice millers who had been waiting for more than six years.
The debt stemmed from a 2018 shipment of 9,000 tonnes of rice to Panama, which went unpaid, leaving the millers in financial limbo and resulted in some of them having to shut down operations.
