Trade ministry denies rice left to rot

In a response to the article, the ministry said the paddy that is in the shed would not be lost but would be dried and stored in silos for further processing during the next two weeks.

The ministry said the drying process and de-hulling of the paddy removes the moisture and the hull which is the part of the paddy that is currently exposed.

It said that the hull is allowed to decompose and is collected by the Ministry of Agriculture to be used as manure.

According to the statement, a laboratory on the Carlsen Field site tests materials at the various stages of processing to make sure that there is no contamination.

The newspaper article said that about 200 tonnes of rice valued at $400,000 is being left to rot at the complex because the NFM rice mill has been non-functional since last November.

However, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said that there are approximately 190 metric tonnes of paddy in the shed, which is expected to be processed over the next five to 10 business days.

It said that during the current paddy season an average of 120 metric tonnes of paddy is brought in each week by farmers and if the plant had been down since November as reported then there would be over 1,200 metric tonnes of paddy on the ground.

However, the ministry did concede that the plant has suffered some breakdowns in the drying process in the last few months.

It said the plant is 25 years old, spares are sometimes difficult to find and this causes delays in making repairs.

It said the market in Trinidad and the region is mainly for parboiled rice, which the Carlsen Field plant does not have the capability to produce.

The facility is being divested and the accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers is assisting the NFM in the divestment process and is seeking an investor who will be able to take over, upgrade and expand the operations of the rice mill, a process which is expected to be completed by June 2017, according to the ministry.

The release says the divestment process allows for local or regional investors to purchase the assets and lease the facilities and land to continue the development of the local rice industry.

“Potential investors, who may be short-listed as a result of this very transparent process, will be required to engage the local farmers as part of the finalisation of their investment proposals,” according to the statement.