GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jul. 17, CMC – The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) says there is no need for the country to import rice as local production is adequate to provide for the local demand.

According to GRDB’s General Manager, Nizam Hassan,there is an adequate production of rice for local consumption as well as for export.

“It has really been an aggressive position by the rice producers and millers, to export the production here. We have always had adequate production for our local consumption,” he told the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Tuesday.

Hassan revealed that production for the first half of this year stands at 290,000 tonnes valued at GYD $23.2Billion (One Guyana dollar =US$0.004 cents) for January to June, 2018 compared to 203,000 tonnes valued at GYD $16.1 Billion  for the corresponding period last year.

For the second crop the GRDB had also targeted 88,660 hectares of land for cultivation. So far 86 percent or 76,500 hectares have been cultivated, Hassan said.

“We have 43 percent increase in export volume and 44 percent in export value. There is no need for rice importation. We have adequate supplies for production,” he said.