THE GOVERNMENT and the private sector are having consultations regarding a request by Caribbean rice producers for a 15 per cent increase in the tariff on imported rice.
The matter, which reportedly led to concerns about price increases for consumers, has been referred to the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting scheduled for July 2-5 in Montego Bay, St. James.
Reports in Tuesday's Barbados Advocate newspaper were that Jamaica, at a two-day meeting in Guyana recently, joined Bar-bados and Antigua in opposing the request, saying any increase in the duty would hike prices for consumers.
HEATED DISPUTE
The newspaper reported that the dispute over rice imports had pitted the three countries against other CARICOM nations, including the rice-growing countries Guyana, Suriname and Belize.
Wilton Dyer, information officer at the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ministry, confirmed that the matter came up at the meeting but said no decision was taken.
"It was referred to the heads meeting. In the interim, Jamaica is having its own consultations on the matter," Mr. Dyer told The Gleaner.
The Advocate reported that CARICOM can set tariffs for member states but there were concerns about whether the increase would comply with the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The producers reportedly want the regional bloc to increase the tariff on imported rice from the current 25 per cent to 40 per cent in an effort to save their ailing industries.
FOREIGN COMPETITION
They charge that cheaper imports from Asia and the United States were driving their growers out of business. They also complained that they were being driven out of the once lucrative European market.
The newspaper reported that the countries were "particularly an-noyed with Jamaica for buying as much as 65,000 tonnes of rice from the United States annually".
Other countries buy smaller amounts from Thailand, Vietnam and India. The regional producers complained that American subsidies and export credits allow US rice to be sold cheaper in the Caribbean, while the higher costs of production in the Caribbean require higher tariffs to protect the growers.
