THE first shipment of Guyana’s paddy to Venezuela for this year left Muneshwer’s Wharf, Georgetown yesterday.

Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana, Reina Arratia, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, George Jervis and General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Jagnarine Singh witnessed the loading of the paddy into the vessel. “We are very grateful to Venezuela for continuing this partnership with Guyana. We are looking for a long term partnership with Venezuela, this is more than a rice deal, this is a friendship between our sisters and brothers in the two countries,” Ramsammy stated.
He advised that while the first shipment of paddy was  sent off yesterday, it is expected that by August about 44, 000 tonnes of paddy will be shipped to Venezuela towards the fulfilment of the contract between the two countries.
The Letter of Commitment signed between the Governments of Guyana and Venezuela on May 2 of this year had stipulated that some 140,000 tonnes of paddy and 70,000 tonnes of white rice will be exported. However, this was later revised to 80,000 tonnes of paddy and 110,000 tonnes of white rice.
Ramsammy explained that the paddy that was loaded yesterday is not the first shipment of paddy out of Guyana for this year, noting that paddy was already exported to Europe, Jamaica, Trinidad and other Caribbean countries.
He related that six shipments of rice  were already made to Venezuela and state that this will be a continuous exercise with the aim of completing the shipment of approximately 55,000 tonnes of rice for the first crop of 2013. 
The minister noted that each of the ships can hold approximately 5,500 to 6,000 tonnes of rice or paddy at a time. However, he explained that the rice is shipped in containers while paddy is shipped in bulk.
He pointed out that rice has had to be shipped in containers as the ships tend to make other stops along the way. He said, though, that they have just completed an arrangement that will see the next shipment of rice going from Guyana directly to Venezuela, and this will reduce the amount of time it takes.
Dr Ramsammy noted that this Guyana-Venezuela partnership has enabled a growth in the local rice industry through the arrangement between the two countries, which sees Venezuela being the largest importer of Guyana’s rice.
Meanwhile, Ramsammy stated that the first crop of this year has almost come to an end, with just about two percent of the crop still to be harvested.
So far he said the equivalent of about 260,000 tonnes of rice has been harvested, representing the largest single crop of rice ever produced in the history of Guyana.
“We’ve had some challenges, and from the public perspective whilst these challenges are being talked about it appears like the crop was a disaster, in fact it was one of our most successful crops,” he asserted.
The minister advised that he is presently engaging authorities in Venezuela for Guyana to procure some 5,000 tonnes of fertiliser from that country, which he said will be another extension of the cooperation between the two countries.
Venezuelan Ambassador, Reina Arratia, speaking via a translator, said that the Guyana-Venezuela rice deal is a demonstration of the strong relations between the two countries, and moreover, the integration of Latin America and the Caribbean.
She expressed gratitude to the people of Guyana, and specifically the farmers and the entire rice industry for making the arrangement possible.
Arratia noted that Venezuela’s newly elected President, Nicolas Maduro will continue in the line of the late President Hugo Chavez in working to strengthen the ties between Guyana and Venezuela and particularly, the commercial and trade relationship between the two countries.