Shelly-Ann Thompson, Staff Reporter

Local rice distributors and importers of the staple from Guyana have thrown their support behind Government's decision to apply to CARICOM for an immediate suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET) on the commodity.

The move, announced yesterday afternoon, is being made to secure supplies of rice, from outside the region, for Jamaican consumers.

The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, in a statement issued yesterday, said that following discussions with leading players of the Guyanese rice industry, the Government has moved for the suspension of the 25 per cent CET to ensure adequate supplies of the staple in the local market.

Immediate suspension

"Owing to the lack of any firm commitment from the government of Guyana, the ministry has moved to apply for an immediate suspension of the CET on 4,000 tonnes of rice per month for the next six months," the statement read. "This is a total volume of 24,000 tonnes of milled rice for the period May to October 2008."

Last Friday, a meeting was convened among Jamaican rice importers; Jagnarine Singh, the general manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB); and a senior official of the Guyanese Ministry of Agriculture.

Jamaican importers have for several months indicated that they were unable to secure sufficient and consistent supplies, resulting in a tightening of supplies on the domestic market.

Several telephone calls to Indera Persaud, Guyanese honorary counsel, were not returned.

Repeat situation

Derrick Nembhard, managing director of Jamaica Rice Milling, told The Gleaner yesterday that the current circumstances surrounding the importation of rice from Guyana are a repeat of last October's incident in which the Caribbean territory, in the midst of its autumn crop, was reportedly unable to meet Jamaica's demand for the food.

At that time, Singh visited the island to allay Jamaican concerns.

"This time the Government was more proactive as it stayed ahead of the game," Nembhard told The Gleaner yesterday. "(It) means for consumers, they will have a continual supply of rice."

Nembhard said importation of rice out of the United States does not necessarily mean the commodity will sell at a more expensive price as Guyana prices are also escalating.

Wayne Chen, chief executive officer of Super Plus Food Stores, a major retailer of the staple, said that, for the last year, supplies of the commodity from Guyana had significantly decreased.

"This is despite assurances from Guyana, but we are not getting the supplies we needed," Chen said.

No quantities

The ministry's release noted that the GRBD representative failed to advise on specific export volumes and could shed no light on why Jamaica was receiving insufficient quantities of rice.

The granting of the Government's application will possibly take two weeks for completion as the CARICOM Secretariat will first have consultations with Guyana and Suriname.

shelly-annthompson@gleanerjm.com