CARACAS: Venezuela has decided to stop buying much of Guyana’s rice crop amid an escalating border dispute between the South American neighbors, the Guyanese finance minister said.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan said Venezuelan officials informed him during a visit to Caracas that they will be acquiring rice from other suppliers, including Suriname, by the end of the year.
Venezuela has in the past four years purchased about 40 percent of Guyana’s rice production, or about 200,000 tons, paying for it with oil that amounts to about half of Guyana’s daily supply needs. “It will be a significant blow to us,” said Peter DeGroot, president of the Rice Millers Association.
The exchange of rice for oil was done under Petrocaribe, a Venezuelan initiative that provides fuel at generous financial terms to Caribbean and Central American countries. Guyana remains a member of Petrocaribe and will continue to buy oil from Venezuela, Jordan said.
Jordan said Venezuela did not disclose the reason for its decision, but the long-running border dispute has been heating up following the recent disclosure of a major oil discovery off Guyana in waters that Venezuela claims. President Nicolas Maduro announced Monday that he was recalling Venezuela’s ambassador in Guyana for consultations and would review relations between the countries.
Guyana Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said the timing of the rice announcement made it at least appear that it is connected to the border flap. “It will have to be considered whether Venezuela’s position of the non-renewal of the Petrocaribe barter agreement is indeed an act of economic sanction against Guyana,” he said in a statement.
The finance minister said Venezuela also did not rule out future purchases of rice. He also said that Venezuela had previously informed Guyanese officials of the plans to discontinue the bulk purchase of the rice crop but that the government of President Donald Ramotar, which was ousted in May elections, did not disclose the information.
