Trinidad & Tobago: Indian operators want to set up rice mill in T&T. Government accepts donation of supplies.

By KAY-MARIE FLETCHER

The Government has accepted a donation of 25 metric tonnes, or more than 55,000 pounds, of premium-quality basmati rice along with a container of edible oils from India. This gesture comes as investors from the Indian state of Haryana expressed interest in establishing a rice mill in Trinidad.

During a post-Cabinet media briefing held at the Office of the Prime Minister, Whitehall, yesterday, Dr Keith Rowley said following his visit to India in May, executives from the Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (HAFED) paid a visit to Trinidad. This resulted in the company now actively considering establishing a rice mill.

HAFED has also extended invitations to the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries as well as the National Flour Mill (NFM) to visit Haryana to tour its facilities next month. He said together, the State and HAFED can do something that could benefit the farmers in T&T as well as improve the supply of rice.

Dr Rowley also revealed the Ministry of Trade and Industries will oversee the collection of the donation. It will then be turned over to the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services to be distributed to those in need.

Dr Rowley said, “HAFED is the largest APEX cooperative federation in Haryana state in India, which is a major food-producing state in India. It processes 2.2 million metric tonnes of commodities annually and has an annual turnover of approximately US$1.6B, so it’s quite a substantial entity. During their visit to Trinidad and Tobago, the cooperative held several meetings with private and public sector entities locally and is actively considering the establishment of a rice mill in Trinidad.

“HAFED has advised that it will donate 25 metric tonnes of rice. Cabinet today (Thursday) accepted this offer, and the Ministry of Trade will take steps to ensure that we receive it in the proper way with all the documentation. When it gets to Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services will come up with a programme for distributing this for the needy people of Trinidad and Tobago,” he added.

This article has been republished from The Trinidad & Tobago Guardian.