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FM
Former Member

Panama owes Guyana over $1B for rice supplied; agreement in turmoil – Agriculture Minister

Aug 12, 2020

The rice agreement between Guyana and Panama is in “serious problem” according to Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha who on Tuesday said that Panama owes Guyana some $1.1B for rice supplied to them.

This has caused a ripple effect on the local rice industry and millers are now withholding $353.9M in commission to the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) because they have not received payment for the rice supplied to Panama.

Mustapha, during a virtual press conference Tuesday, said the Ministry of Agriculture will immediately work to ensure these debts are paid as the industry can be seriously affected by the ongoing delay from Panama.

The GRDB currently has a liability of $4.7M.

“In that agreement, millers are owed $1.1B, so the agreement that the previous government had or have with Panama, that agreement is in serious problem…that sale of rice is in a problem.”

In September 2018, Panamanian authorities rejected 33 containers of rice shipments after it was found that parboiled rice was shipped instead of the requested White Rice. Panama is one of Guyana’s major export market for rice.

Meanwhile, there is a current paddy bug infestation affecting farmers on the Essequibo Coast.

The Minister said he has given instructions for scientists and officers to be on the ground to offer assistance to farmers.

“We have also set up a paddy bug hotline where persons can call and get information and lodge complaints about paddy bug infestations. The number is 232-1395.”

https://newsroom.gy/2020/08/12...minF-mwKfN135gpa2jng

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GuySuCo unable to pay wages; $1.6B needed to keep the industry afloat

 

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will not be in a position to pay wages to sugar workers from August 21, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha revealed during a virtual press conference on Tuesday. It was found that the sugar company needs $1.6B from now until the end of the year to stay afloat.

The Minister said after assessing the state of affairs of GuySuCo it was found to be in an extremely depressing state.

The three remaining sugar estates are currently suffering from lack of capital funding and this has negatively affected production. Sugar production had a shortfall of 9461 tonnes in the first crop and it is likely that in 2021 the production will continue to be weak due to low achievement this year.

“The cooperation will not be in a position to pay wages from the 21 August. Under the previous administration, a request was made to [National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited] (NICIL) for an amount of $1B but only $550M was received to date,” the Minister said.

The additional $1.6B is required as revenue sales from sugar and molasses will not be sufficient to cover expenditure for this period.

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha

“Achieving consistent and adequate cane supply is a problem across the industry; there is a shortage of essential inputs like fertilizer and chemical which are vital to canes in the second crop and unless they are procured cane growth will be adversely affected and directly impact on future production,” the Agriculture Minister said.

It was also noted that NICIL is still to pay an outstanding $9.5B to GuySuCo from the $30B loan secured in 2018. The previous APNU+AFC government took the loan through NICIL to assist GuySuCo however, only $10.2B was made available to date.

“It seems that this entire scenario was shredded in secrecy; NICIL has been disbursing money to GuySuCo but they are not telling them how much they are collecting or drawdown from the loan of $30B, they are not telling GuySuCo the terms of repayment,” the Minister stated.

The Minister further reiterated the PPP’s government promise to reopen the four closed sugar estates but could not provide a timeframe or how much money will be needed to reopen these estates.

He said a conditional survey of the various estates needs to be done along with an assessment of the assets with NICIL.

The former Government closed the Rose Hall, Skeldon, Wales, and Enmore sugar estates in a grand plan to restructure the sugar industry. As a result, thousands of sugar workers were fired in what was deemed the largest retrenchment in the local public and private sector.

https://newsroom.gy/2020/08/11...2DdBUtIMWMxiLsfDO748

FM
Last edited by Django

With all the problems facing the sugar estates, it the new government running a risk to reopen them? Keeping up with a campaign promise doesn't mean to keep up with an industry that doesn't yield profit and provide long term employment for workers. This is the future and sooner the management of GUYSUCO will have to invest in modern machinery to replace human labor. Are they looking at the future like I do?

FM

Zulfikar ,pissing in the wind ,fooled their supporters in Region 6 about opening Sugar Estates ,they were only concerned for the Ratman to handle Oil and Gas plus the Finance Ministry ,so they can fatten their bank accounts. They will fail ,can't deliver . Watch how they will be hammered in parliament.

What's Zulfikar qualifications ? other than a political hack.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Former Member posted:

With all the problems facing the sugar estates, it the new government running a risk to reopen them? Keeping up with a campaign promise doesn't mean to keep up with an industry that doesn't yield profit and provide long term employment for workers. This is the future and sooner the management of GUYSUCO will have to invest in modern machinery to replace human labor. Are they looking at the future like I do?

Sugar needs to be looked at in a broader sense. An unprofitable industry does not necessarily equate to an economic loss.

Baseman
@Baseman posted:

Sugar needs to be looked at in a broader sense. An unprofitable industry does not necessarily equate to an economic loss.

How many years was the PPP looking at the sugar industry ? where the money will come from for the huge subsidy ? you are in some kind of Finance ,what happens to Companies in the US when it's not profitable ?

Django
Last edited by Django
@Django posted:

Zulfikar ,pissing in the wind ,fooled their supporters in Region 6 about opening Sugar Estates ,they were only concerned for the Ratman to handle Oil and Gas plus the Finance Ministry . They will fail ,can't deliver .

What's Zulfikar qualifications ? other than a political hack.

At this stage, Guyana cannot rely on oil and gas alone but have to tap into other sectors. Sugar and rice were two viable sectors at one time, but mismanagement has played a part in sinking both. Are we going back to the failure of bailing out just to give workers a job? They should privatize the sugar industries. Just my opinion.

FM
Last edited by Former Member
@Former Member posted:

At this stage, Guyana cannot rely on oil and gas alone but have to tap into other sectors. Sugar and rice were two viable sectors at one time, but mismanagement has played a part in sinking both. Are we going back to the failure of bailing out just to give workers a job? They should privatize the sugar industries. Just my opinion.

Sugar is dead ,too costly to produce in Guyana ,use the lands for other crops.Rice is in private hands and doing well, except for marketing which is in the hands of the government.

I have a friend who is planting over 50 acres of rice and is profitable.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Django posted:

Sugar is dead ,to costly to produce in Guyana ,use the lands for other crops.

Rice is in private hands and doing well, except for marketing. I have a friend who is planting over 50 acres and is profitable.

The cocaine in rice will definitely put a dent on the export market. Do you think GRBD had a hand into it?

FM
Last edited by Former Member
@Former Member posted:

The cocaine in rice will definitely put a dent on the export market. Do you think GRBD had a hand into it?

Minister of Agriculture Zulficar Mustapha on Tuesday said he has asked the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to provide details about 1.5 tons of cocaine that German authorities said were found stashed in a sacks of rice from Guyana.

https://demerarawaves.com/2020...ocaine-in-rice-bust/

Zulfikar ,turn police he will find out.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Django posted:

How many years was the PPP looking at the sugar industry ? where the money will come from for the huge subsidy ? you are in some kind of Finance ,what happens to Companies in the US when it's not profitable ?

You don’t understand the larger context and don’t understand what I wrote.  Me done with you on that. 

Baseman
@Baseman posted:

You don’t understand the larger context and don’t understand what I wrote.  Me done with you on that. 

Continue to think so !!!  I man doan go around prattling to impress people.

There are many threads on the Forum ,you should dig it up.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Django posted:

Minister of Agriculture Zulficar Mustapha on Tuesday said he has asked the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to provide details about 1.5 tons of cocaine that German authorities said were found stashed in a sacks of rice from Guyana.

https://demerarawaves.com/2020...ocaine-in-rice-bust/

Zulfikar ,turn police he will find out.

It’s not a matter of turning police.  The investigation has to start internally to narrow exactly where the breach occurred and then try to narrow the persons to be questioned.  It’s a standard detective approach.

Good thing PNC/AFC lost.

Baseman
@Django posted:

Sugar is dead ,too costly to produce in Guyana ,use the lands for other crops. Rice is in private hands and doing well, except for marketing which is in the hands of the government.

I have a friend who is planting over 50 acres of rice and is profitable.

Maybe the Coalition Crew should have given out those Guysuco land to laid off sugar workers to use for other crops instead of giving it to their friends and families.

FM
@Baseman posted:

It’s not a matter of turning police.  The investigation has to start internally to narrow exactly where the breach occurred and then try to narrow the persons to be questioned.  It’s a standard detective approach.

Good thing PNC/AFC lost.

There are  appropriate investigative authorities to handle that.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Former Member posted:

Maybe the Coalition Crew should have given out those Guysuco land to laid off sugar workers to use for other crops instead of giving it to their friends and families.

How much lands was given away ?

Django
@Former Member posted:

With all the problems facing the sugar estates, it the new government running a risk to reopen them? Keeping up with a campaign promise doesn't mean to keep up with an industry that doesn't yield profit and provide long term employment for workers. This is the future and sooner the management of GUYSUCO will have to invest in modern machinery to replace human labor. Are they looking at the future like I do?

They will be forced to use modern machinery to replace human labourers who left the country to join their relatives abroad. This was coming.

Moses Nagamootoo promised them in 2015 to invest millions into Guysuco but did not keep his promise. So don't talk about promises the PPP made in 2020.  That will be fulfilled.

R
@Ramakant-P posted:

They will be forced to use modern machinery to replace human labourers who left the country to join their relatives abroad. This was coming.

Moses Nagamootoo promised them in 2015 to invest millions into Guysuco but did not keep his promise. So don't talk about promises the PPP made in 2020.  That will be fulfilled.

How the machines will function with the current field layout ?

Django
@Django posted:

How the machines will function with the current field layout ?

They will have to change the landscape before they plant the crops. The rest will be easy.  

They used to say that computers will replace mankind, but as I see it, they required more men to manage those computers. So I am not worried about people losing their jobs.

R
@Django posted:

Sugar is dead ,too costly to produce in Guyana ,use the lands for other crops.Rice is in private hands and doing well, except for marketing which is in the hands of the government.

I have a friend who is planting over 50 acres of rice and is profitable.

You wished.

FM
@Ramakant-P posted:

They will have to change the landscape before they plant the crops. The rest will be easy.  

They used to say that computers will replace mankind, but as I see it, they required more men to manage those computers. So I am not worried about people losing their jobs.

LOL two decades ago they never started that ,do will do so now.

Django
@Django posted:

How much lands was given away ?

Don't you know? how come this slip you.

 Wales land was given away.

 Sugar is not dead ,but the PNC had wanted to kill the Sugar workers, starve them to death{Indos}

 Several parts and machines from the Estates were stolen and sold off to the benefit of the PNC cabal, you know? They purposely destroyed the lively hood of the Indian Sugar workers, you know why? ask Volda Lawrence.

K
@kp posted:

Don't you know? how come this slip you.

 Wales land was given away.

 Sugar is not dead ,but the PNC had wanted to kill the Sugar workers, starve them to death{Indos}

 Several parts and machines from the Estates were stolen and sold off to the benefit of the PNC cabal, you know? They purposely destroyed the lively hood of the Indian Sugar workers, you know why? ask Volda Lawrence.

To who ? do the owners buy ,lease or given for free ?

Sugar Industry was killed by the PPP ,not the Coalition Government.

The last paragraph sounds like gibberish.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Django posted:

To who ? do the owners buy ,lease or given for free ?

Sugar Industry was killed by the PPP ,not the Coalition Government.

The last paragraph sounds like gibberish.

If I were to say you are posting GIBBERISH, you would wanted to suspend/ban me.

 The PNC closed many sugar Factories to punish the INDIANS.

K
@kp posted:

If I were to say you are posting GIBBERISH, you would wanted to suspend/ban me.

 The PNC closed many sugar Factories to punish the INDIANS.

Mind your grammar.

Indians?

Your hogwash statement is very amusing but harmless. 

Mitwah
@kp posted:

 The PNC closed many sugar Factories to punish the INDIANS.

The subsidy became a burden ,the workers was given opportunities to work at other estates . The Berbice Sugar lands are connected ,so field workers wasn't affected. On the West Demerara the workers was given work at Uitvlught ,some refused.

It's good to be truthful ,instead kowtowing to political statements.

Django

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