Why is Basmati rice being imported?
Dear Editor,
A local company has, reportedly, imported the high-priced 'Basmati' rice for sale in Guyana.
This company, not owned by Guyanese, seems bent on destroying an already embattled and fragile local rice industry.

The company's advertisements in Friday 1st November, 2002 issues of both the Guyana Chronicle and the Stabroek News screamed "taste the exotic pleasure of Alesie aromatics."
Has Basmati rice, grown in India and Pakistan for more than 8,000 years, been patented locally by the importing company hence `Alesie aromatic'? There are many questions in my mind.

The local rice industry is struggling for survival and more than ever, it needs the local market for sustenance especially at a time when overseas markets are dwindling and global rice prices are steadily tumbling. Is the Government, by allowing Alesie to import Basmati rice, not helping to kill our rice industry?

Did Alesie get the approval of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) of Caricom to import this specialty rice? How much duty did it pay?
At a time when our general economy is down, can local consumers afford to pay approximately G$1,615.00 per gallon for this rice?

Is this how this company intends to help the rice industry and ultimately, our economy?
The company's advertisement says it's introducing the Basmati rice for Diwali. How can Basmati rice, apart from draining money from the consuming public, help in the celebration of Diwali?

If indeed the company imported the rice from India, where it is grown in the foothills of the Himalayas mountain range spanning the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, why did the government allow the import? Alesie has confirmed that the rice is currently being sold at G$2,000 per 10 lbs (4.5kg). This amounts to G$1,600 per gallon or G$20,000 per bag of 100 pounds or further, G$440,800 or US$2,295 per metric tonne.

The current price for a 100 lb bag locally-produced white rice is G$2,200 or G$176 per gallon or US$250 per metric tonne.
It means, therefore that the Basmati rice is 89 per cent (or eight times) more expensive than our local white rice!! Have Guyanese the disposable income to afford such a high-priced commodity? Is the government going to allow this, or any other company, to import such commodities to rival what we produce locally and ultimately destroy some of our primary industries?
I am waiting to see what happens!
Yours faithfully,
Clement Ramoutar

Editor's note:
We sent this letter to Mr. Turhane Doerga the president of Alesie Guyana for his moments and received the following reply for Mr. Pooran Ram, a director of the Guyana Management Team.
"We have received your letter dated 7th November 2002 addressed to our President Mr. Turhane Doerga, Ph.D. in good order for which we sincerely thank you.
To be able to answer the letter of Mr. Clement Ramoutar it is necessary to first highlight a few of the achievements of Alesie.
Alesie as a rice company already 3 generations in rice has now covered the world (please see our website www.alesience.com) and can comfortably consider themselves as one of the world players in rice.
In Guyana it was Alesie who created the OCT route in 1990, which brought so much prosperity to the rice industry soaring the paddy price from G$350 to G$2,200 for years and as Mr. Ramoutar seems to be informed about the rice industry he no doubt knows. Unfortunately, it was the wrong policies of Mr. Charles Kennard and Mr. Fazal Ally together with the so called rice experts of that time, which have contributed to the termination of the OCT route (full documentation is available) creating an immediate drop in paddy prices of almost 50%.
Because Alesie, which knows the world market situation, had no choice than to anticipate the consequences of the termination of the OCT route, they had to get the companies in a survival mode in Guyana and weather out the downfall.

Excellent Government Policies
The consequences are known by all involved in the rice industries and Alesie came up with a re-structuring plan based on the excellent policies now implemented by our government.

Sold Out
We are extremely happy to inform you that the rice industry is back on its feet and all who know what is going on know that paddy prices have soared this crop to the levels of above G$1,700.00 resulting in every inch of rice land being back into production. With the several regions now feverishly working on the rehabilitation of the water management system we can only inform you that the future of the rice industry looks bright.
We are also extremely happy to inform you that Guyanese rice is sold out: there is no more rice available for new contracts and each and all in the industry will confirm this. Make no mistake: the Guyanese suppliers have the inventories to continue supplying their traditional markets until the next harvest. Please also note that for Alesie that local market is also a traditional market and included.
We sincerely value Mr Ramoutar's concerns about our rice industry and want to inform him that with the changed policies into free enterprise, whereas we understand that we in Guyana do not have to be more religious than the Pope, rest assured that the Caricom duty on imported rice is fixed at 25% giving the local production a clear break in the whole Caricom.
Although we are firm supporters of the WTO (World Trade Organization) we believe that there should be that break of 25% and therefore support it.

Past Days
Fresh in our memory are the days when flour and sardines, etc were banned form our country and shops were raided by government officials if you could be accused of selling dhal, flour, sardines, etc...
We as Guyanese in our rice industry have now managed to place our rice in specialty markets and are doing extremely well.
We send through Stabroek News a copy of our company's brochure for this hemisphere where you can see that Alesie is promoting Guyanese rice prominently as a specialty product in the USA, Caribbean, South and Central America and Europe.
Come January for the first time Guyana will be exporting packaged rice to Europe in all varieties and qualities. At the last Guy-Expo Alesie has introduced to the world the specialty parboiled rice from their smart production plant in Wakenaam, which is now in full operation and has put all the farmers on the island back into business.

Basmati Rice; Thai Hom Mali Rice (Jasmin rice)
Basmati Rice is rightfully the most expensive rice in the world and is indeed a multiple in price of the Guyana rice.
Thai Hom Mali Rice (Jasmin rice), which will be introduced for Christmas in Guyana, is the second most expensive rice in the world.
This rice forms no threat to Guyana's rice production and is used on special occasions such as Diwali and for people who want to live in style year round.
And yes, sales went extremely well.
Guyana will never ever again ban "Christmas Apples" because some political leaders found that necessary; also because we as Guyanese found out the hard way what the consequences are when you ban "free trade."
In our perception, Mr. Ramoutar, we want and are producing in Guyana, sell our products at the best price, pay taxes and recognize our obligation towards the community and want to prosper together with the farmers who are dear to us and all other Guyanese.
Having sold our produce and having received our dollars including foreign currencies we, Guyanese, want to be the ones who decide how to spend it.
We were therefore de-lighted to hear the farmers saying that they could finally see and taste the Basmati Rice they always heard of.
Please rest assured that our farmers now produce one of the finest quality neutral tasting rice and it is being sold in specific markets; the latest success of our Guyanese Parboiled, which competes head on with brand names, such as Uncle Ben, is therefore also a good example of our successes in Guyana.

Basmati Patent
Basmati rice will not be patented by Alesie Guyana or anywhere else as Alesie is a firm supporter also of the farmers in Haryana and Punjab whose ancestors have cultivated this variety thousands of years before Christ was born.

Proud
We are proud of the Guyanese qualities we produce and also support our proud colleagues and farmers in the rest of the world and together we feed the world with flavours, origins and choices of rice in a freworld.

Invitation
We invite Mr Ramoutar to tour our plants and our operations and to visit our dear farmers as we are sure that he will be proud of the restructured Guyanese rice industry.

Foreigners
As almost all international companies Alesie is owned by many people, including Guyanese and if the statement points to our president Mr Doerga, please be informed that his mother is a born Berbician Guyanese, which gives him the firm right to be here. He is also highly educated, sits on several international boards, created the OCT route, has firmly now put Guyana rice in a beautiful packaging all over the world, is recently appointed advisor of the Minister of Trade of Thailand (the world's largest exporter of rice), etc etc... And yes, we are proud that he originates from Guyana, but most important, however, is that this company is 100% managed and operated by Guyanese.

Alesie
Alesie employs more than 600 people directly and indirectly in Guyana and more than 6,000 people world wide, pays decent salaries, has excellent secondary benefits and is supported indirectly by more than 4% of all rice farmers in Guyana, creating wealth and prosperity in an equal opportunity free market place."