Estonia and Slovenia among new rice markets for Guyana last year …
(MENAFN – Caribbean News Global)
Written by Beauty Razack
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (DPI) – Guyana’s agricultural sector continues to make its mark on the international food market, with the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and the European nations of Estonia and Slovenia among the newest rice export destinations in 2021.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said in a recent interview that he is optimistic that demand for Guyana rice will increase in 2022 as the government intends to increase investment in the sector.
“We have increased our market to these three countries, we now have close to 42 countries to which we export rice, and we want to improve that,” Minister Mustapha said.
Despite the huge impact of COVID-19 and the devastating May / June floods, in 2021 the country’s rice industry alone raised $ 42.2 billion ($ 201 million) after exporting about 434,535 tons of rice.
Since the PPP / C government took office in 2020, Guyana has been able to expand its products to many countries.
In addition, the agricultural sector was able to contribute about $ 2.6 billion to Guyana’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021 by exporting non-traditional crops.
“The other crop sector has made a significant contribution to the country’s GDP… when I think of other crops, things people look forward to, such as small crops, they call it crops…. we saw a contribution of $ 2.6 billion, ”the minister explained.
One of the many visions of His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali is to make the necessary investments so that farmers can create and increase the level of production and profitability. The government also wants to lower the food import bill.
Minister Mustapha said there could have been more events last year had there been no floods across the country.
“But I think we’re moving aggressively now and we’re more on the verge of giving our contribution and our stamp to the Caribbean market.”
The government has greatly helped the affected citizens due to the floods. About $ 7.8 billion was distributed to about 50,000 farmers affected by floods across the country.
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