Amid low world rice prices that have forced the government to continue subsidising the industry, Guyana is searching for more export markets to buy the grain whose production is set to reach 820,000 tonnes this year, agriculture minister Zulfikar Mustapha said on Tuesday.
He said the government was making efforts to secure markets in Mexico, Haiti and Cuba, in addition to selling more to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states such as Jamaica and St Lucia.
“They are buying more rice from Guyana than any other part of the Caribbean,” he later told Demerara Waves Online News.
The minister said he was in an “advanced stage” of talks with the Mexican ambassador to Guyana, and already a “small amount” of paddy has been dispatched to Haiti with the hope of an increase from the second crop of 2026.
He said Guyana was continuing rice exports to Europe but the price there is lower.
Already, Guyana has produced 414,000 tonnes of rice for 2026 and he was optimistic about reaching this year’s target.
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