Headlines:
| Another JA/Guyana rice deal |
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| Monday, 10 November 2008 | |
 Jamaica
is to import 60,000 tons of rice next year through an agreement it signed with
its CARICOM partner, Guyana.Under the terms of the agreement, Guyana is to supply Jamaica with an average 5,000 metric tons of rice per month at market prices starting on January 1 and continuing through to the end of 2009. The agreement was signed in Georgetown on Friday by Commerce Minister Karl Samuda and Guyana's Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr Henry Jeffrey. Earlier this year, the Bharat Jagdeo administration in Guyana had expressed concern about the agreement between both countries concerning the importation of rice. Jamaica claimed that Guyana was unable to meet the demand and then applied for a suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET) to import rice from outside the region. Subsequenty, both countries held bilateral talks and Guyana eventually supported the CET suspension on condition that Jamaica imported 60,000 tons of rice over a 12 month period. In this latest agreement, if Guyana is unable to supply the agreed quantities of rice, Jamaica will be notified and there will be no objection to the suspension of the CET. Mr. Samuda said Jamaica with imports of 50,000 tons last year, was the largest single importer of rice from Guyana. He was addressing a conference celebrating 100 years of the rice industry in Guyana. |