Some millers raise paddy prices as new rice crop harvest begins– Agri Minister

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has said that some rice millers have begun offering increased prices for paddy as harvesting gets underway, and he is hopeful farmers will receive better prices during the current crop. Mustapha made the disclosure while clarifying comments attributed to him earlier last week that lower grain prices on the world market had resulted in lower paddy prices locally. According to the Minister, changing global conditions, including restrictions being placed on grain exports by more countries, are expected to push international prices upward and in turn, influence prices being offered locally.

“As a result of that, we are now at the beginning of the harvesting season, and I have already seen some rice millers that have already put out increased prices for paddy,” Mustapha said. “So I’m hoping that the farmers will receive better prices this crop and it will have more effect in terms of getting more disposable income for the farmers,” he added. Mustapha explained that his earlier comments about low international grain prices referred to the two rice crops in 2025 and the first crop of 2026, when farmers were receiving lower prices for their paddy. “I made this statement in the context of the first crop of 2026 and the crops that were farmed in 2025, both crops of 2025, because in the world market the price for grain was very low and that would have influenced our prices in the country where farmers would have received low prices for the paddy,” he explained. The comments he was clarifying were made on Saturday during an engagement with farmers and residents at Shieldstown, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

Mustapha said the Government had made several interventions to support rice farmers during the period of lower prices. He said fertiliser support was increased in 2025 from half a bag per acre to one bag per acre, while President Dr Irfaan Ali subsequently held consultations with rice farmers in April to determine what additional assistance could be provided for the first crop of 2026. According to Mustapha, it was agreed that farmers cultivating up to 50 acres would receive $15,000 in cash support, while those in the larger-acreage category would receive $10,000.