Essequibo rice giant Kayman Sankar sells off properties

… Hampton Court airstrip also sold

Kayman Sankar, a popular rice company, has sold a number of properties including Essequibo Coast and Blairmont, Berbice rice land less than three years after the Kayman Sankar passed away.
Sankar was acclaimed as Guyana’s most successful rice farmer/miller, who rose from poverty to become a millionaire and a household name on the Essequibo Coast and Guyana as a whole.
The late rice miller’s son, Beni Sankar, confirmed to Guyana Times on Wednesday that several properties were sold, pointing out quickly that the decision to sell had nothing to do with issues facing the industry. Among the properties sold the Hampton Court Airstrip, aquaculture farms, rice fields, estate houses and cattle.
“It has nothing to do with the decline it was for different circumstances,” he explained.

While Beni Sankar did not want to comment further on the sale of these properties, he said as it currently obtained, the rice industry was in a good state, but there were a few issues that could be addressed.
“Maybe the farmers are not getting the preferential treatment they used to get. So, maybe that is a big issue. What has mostly happened there is that their profits have gone down,” he emphasised.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kayman Sankar and Company Limited told this publication that in most instances, when rice farmers take their capital to the bank, they were more likely to receive three to four per cent interest.
“And most farmers clear 20-25 per cent. And now if they don’t make that a crop or so, that’s a big scream. And what you have to bear in mind also, is that there are too many small farmers,” he opined.
According to him, farmers, who operate with 25-30 acres of land, cannot earn a living wage in Guyana, adding that with no other form of employment, this could lead to a lot of societal problems.
“It’s not an easy situation, but I think the industry is in a relatively good state,” he added.
Questioned whether there was need for more markets, Sankar said even if more markets were opened up, it all boiled down to the price offered for rice and paddy.
“You can sell how much rice you want, but it’s the price. As a matter of fact that applies to any product. If you give it away at a low price, people will take it,” he further stated.
Guyana recently reached an agreement with Mexico which will allow for the export of an estimated 150,000 tonnes of rice and paddy to Mexico duty-free before year-end.
Despite this, there has been a general decline of rice prices on the international market over the past few years. This trend has had more consequences for some rice-producing countries than others.
The implications for the Caribbean and Guyana have already been realised, and have already threatened the comparatively high prices that were enjoyed in years gone by.
Nevertheless, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had revealed that rice production was expected to increase by 1.3 per cent in 2017, although there was a decline during 2016 by 12.7 per cent to 600,000 metric tonnes due to El Niño weather conditions.
Holder said that a number of farmers had exited the industry owing to the loss of the high-priced Venezuelan market, but explained that 3311 hectares were lost out of the 76,717 hectares sown.
It was reported that production for 2015 was 1,058,129 tonnes, which was equivalent to 687,784 tonnes. That was 80,840 tonnes or 8.27 per cent higher than the production for 2014.

They are now into coconut export.

Rice murdered by DUMB, INCOMPETENT PNC!!!!!!!!!

Nehru posted:

Rice murdered by DUMB, INCOMPETENT PNC!!!!!!!!!

Bhai did you read what Beni said ??

You expect him to state the true reason and stay alive in Guyana???  Banna, you sure you do not have the contract for the Bklyn Bridge?? Check in you Safety Deposit Box

Django posted:

Nehru posted:

Rice murdered by DUMB, INCOMPETENT PNC!!!!!!!!!

Bhai did you read what Beni said ??

I know the Sankars,  they play the game with which ever government is in office, they donate big to both PPP and PNC , they were the largest employer in Essequibo. Liquidating their assets started soon after the last election, they own properties and businesses in the USA and Canada.

Leonora posted:

My cousin was Kayman's accountant and he used to fill us in on the goings on.

Your cousin should go to jail for disclosing the man's personal finances to people who have no business to hear this.

How can Kayman Sankar sell anything when he is dead.  Do they mean Beni is selling out?  They need cash to pay off their debtors and then they will run for the hills like every other Guyanese.  Once richest man in Guyana reduced to near bankrupt.

Bibi Haniffa posted:

How can Kayman Sankar sell anything when he is dead.  Do they mean Beni is selling out?  They need cash to pay off their debtors and then they will run for the hills like every other Guyanese.  Once richest man in Guyana reduced to near bankrupt.

The name of the firm is Kayman Sankar and Company Limited, DumDum. 

kp posted:

Django posted:

Nehru posted:

Rice murdered by DUMB, INCOMPETENT PNC!!!!!!!!!

Bhai did you read what Beni said ??

I know the Sankars,  they play the game with which ever government is in office, they donate big to both PPP and PNC , they were the largest employer in Essequibo. Liquidating their assets started soon after the last election, they own properties and businesses in the USA and Canada.

Most major family run businesses in Guyana donate to both PPP and PNC in one form or other. Ask Kisson, Tulsi, Beharry and others if that is not true.  It is part of doing business.

That's a known fact, and businesses need certain leverages from the government as well. It's a two-way street. In America, during elections, politicians have foreign donors and lobbyists throwing money and campaign to protect their business interest. Nothing is for anything these days. Let me add that business is not structured to run for a five-year term like government. They are there for the long haul, so they have to take care of any government of the day.   

Prince posted:

That's a known fact, and businesses need certain leverages from the government as well. It's a two-way street. In America, during elections, politicians have foreign donors and lobbyists throwing money and campaign to protect their business interest. Nothing is for anything these days. Let me add that business is not structured to run for a five-year term like government. They are there for the long haul, so they have to take care of any government of the day.   

In the US_of_A, politicians may have local donors and lobbyists, but they cannot ... note cannot ... have foreign donors and lobbyists.

Demerara_Guy posted:

Prince posted:

That's a known fact, and businesses need certain leverages from the government as well. It's a two-way street. In America, during elections, politicians have foreign donors and lobbyists throwing money and campaign to protect their business interest. Nothing is for anything these days. Let me add that business is not structured to run for a five-year term like government. They are there for the long haul, so they have to take care of any government of the day.   

In the US_of_A, politicians may have local donors and lobbyists, but they cannot ... note cannot ... have foreign donors and lobbyists.

Excerpts from Huffington Post

WASHINGTON — Every election cycle brings new concerns about foreign interests influencing U.S. elections and secretly funneling money to U.S. political campaigns.

Yet foreign governments and corporations are openly spending tens of millions of dollars a year buying influence in Washington by hiring well-connected lobbyists.

Prince posted:

Demerara_Guy posted:

Prince posted:

That's a known fact, and businesses need certain leverages from the government as well. It's a two-way street. In America, during elections, politicians have foreign donors and lobbyists throwing money and campaign to protect their business interest. Nothing is for anything these days. Let me add that business is not structured to run for a five-year term like government. They are there for the long haul, so they have to take care of any government of the day.   

In the US_of_A, politicians may have local donors and lobbyists, but they cannot ... note cannot ... have foreign donors and lobbyists.

Excerpts from Huffington Post

WASHINGTON — Every election cycle brings new concerns about foreign interests influencing U.S. elections and secretly funneling money to U.S. political campaigns.

Yet foreign governments and corporations are openly spending tens of millions of dollars a year buying influence in Washington by hiring well-connected lobbyists.

Read carefully and understand my statement ... note ...

[[QUOTE]]

note cannot ... have foreign donors and lobbyists.

[[UNQUOTE]]

From your quote, note carefully the words, highlighted ...

1. secretly funneling

2. hiring well-connected lobbyists.

Demerara_Guy posted:

Prince posted:

Demerara_Guy posted:

Prince posted:

That's a known fact, and businesses need certain leverages from the government as well. It's a two-way street. In America, during elections, politicians have foreign donors and lobbyists throwing money and campaign to protect their business interest. Nothing is for anything these days. Let me add that business is not structured to run for a five-year term like government. They are there for the long haul, so they have to take care of any government of the day.   

In the US_of_A, politicians may have local donors and lobbyists, but they cannot ... note cannot ... have foreign donors and lobbyists.

Excerpts from Huffington Post

WASHINGTON — Every election cycle brings new concerns about foreign interests influencing U.S. elections and secretly funneling money to U.S. political campaigns.

Yet foreign governments and corporations are openly spending tens of millions of dollars a year buying influence in Washington by hiring well-connected lobbyists.

Read carefully and understand my statement ... note ...

[[QUOTE]]

note cannot ... have foreign donors and lobbyists.

[[UNQUOTE]]

From your quote, note carefully the words, highlighted ...

1. secretly funneling

2. hiring well-connected lobbyists.

It may NOT be legal, but it does happen from time to time. That's all there is to know, sir. 

Legal =vs= illegal

Demerara_Guy posted:

Legal =vs= illegal

You should left off the book and get street smart. Government will tell you to do as I say, but don't do as I do.  

Essequibo rice giant sells assets under pressure from bank

…denies selling Berbice properties

Beni Sankar, son of late rice magnate Kayman Sankar, has affirmed that certain assets were indeed sold because of pressure from a commercial bank.
According to the rice industrialist, the rice milling and drying facilities at Hampton Court, Essequibo Coast were sold for some $600M in order to cover debts with a local bank. He disclosed that those were the only properties sold, and affirmed that the property at Blairmont, West Bank Berbice and the air strip and aquaculture farms have not been sold.

Hampton Court.

“We were asset-rich but cash (deficient),” Sankar said. “So we decided to sell a part of Hampton Court — which is the milling system and the drying system. We have not sold the Blairmont operation, because it is in litigation.”
Kayman Sankar has been acclaimed as Guyana’s most successful rice farmer/miller. He rose from poverty working as a labourer, and became a millionaire and a household name on the Essequibo Coast and Guyana as a whole. The rice magnate died in 2014, after a prolonged illness.
The downsizing of Sankar’s rice operations and eventual exit from the industry comes on the heels of reports of other rice farmers and millers exiting the industry. Beni Sankar has stated that selling off some of the family’s assets has nothing to do with the decline in the rice industry.

There has been a general decline in rice prices on the international market over the past few years. This trend has had more consequences for some rice-producing countries than others.
The implications for the Caribbean and Guyana have already been realised, and have already threatened the comparatively high prices that were enjoyed in years gone by.
Nevertheless, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had revealed that rice production was expected to increase by 1.3 per cent in 2017, although there was a decline during 2016 by 12.7 per cent to 600,000 metric tonnes due to El Niño weather conditions.
Holder said that a number of farmers had exited the industry owing to the loss of the high-priced Venezuelan market, but explained that 3311 hectares were lost out of the 76,717 hectares sown.
It was reported that production for 2015 was 1,058,129 tonnes paddy, the equivalent of 687,784 tonnes of rice. That was 80,840 tonnes, or 8.27 per cent, higher than the production for 2014.

Rass bai, them slop can bais now sourcing from Guyana Times.  They subscription to Stabroek must have expired or PNC cutting back and didn't renew.  

Drugb posted:

Rass bai, them slop can bais now sourcing from Guyana Times.  They subscription to Stabroek must have expired or PNC cutting back and didn't renew.  

They were probably denied combat pay. Looks like they want to keep the money for themselves. Funds must be really drying up.