A cargo of 384.8 tonnes of Guyanese rice was brought into Suriname without the importer completing the mandatory import procedure, with part of it already cleared and removed from the port.

Agriculture Minister Mike Noersalim said the importer did not go through the required procedure at the Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Ministry (LVV). The part cleared by Customs had to be returned after it emerged that the required LVV permission was missing. The application for a phytosanitary permit was submitted afterwards.

Noersalim described the matter as deception and told Starnieuws that action will be taken against the importer.

The cargo was destined for Rijstfabriek B. Ramadhin in Nickerie and arrived from Guyana aboard the MV Falk. The accompanying Guyanese phytosanitary certificate shows 384,800 kilograms of rice. It was issued on September 29 by Guyana's National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO).

Noersalim said a certificate from the exporting country is not enough to import an agricultural product into Suriname. The importer must first obtain permission from Suriname's NPPO and meet the country's phytosanitary import conditions. That did not happen with this cargo, he said.

Mandatory Procedure

An importer must first apply for the required phytosanitary permit, submitting the phytosanitary certificate, which shows the cargo was inspected in line with Surinamese requirements, and the invoice. LVV then checks the documents and, if they are in order, validates them and grants permission for import.

The cargo cannot simply be taken from the port after arrival. The importer must contact the relevant LVV department for the mandatory inspection. If a ship arrives outside working hours, an exemption can be granted to move the goods to the importer's warehouse.

"Without any of these documents, he cannot take that cargo away from the port," Noersalim said.

Part of the rice was nevertheless cleared by Customs and removed. After LVV established that the procedure had not been followed, that portion had to be returned. The minister wants to know how the cargo was cleared without LVV permission and is consulting the agencies involved.

Under Suriname's plant protection legislation, goods imported without permission can be destroyed at the importer's expense or sent back to the country of origin. In this case, the cargo was sent back. Noersalim said the importer will also have to pay a fine and described the conduct as an economic offence.

Urea Also on Board

Urea for the same company was shipped aboard the MV Falk. A pro forma invoice dated September 17 shows Guyana's Nand Persaud and Company Limited invoiced Rijstfabriek R. Ramadhin for 600 tonnes of urea, comprising 12,000 bags of 50 kilograms, with a declared value of US$600,000.

Noersalim said the import documents are being examined further. He said the importer submitted the invoice only after the cargo arrived in Suriname, which he also described as deception.

The minister said the paddy price is currently around SRD 700 per bag. The imported parboiled rice can be sold as animal feed, among other uses, but does not have the same nutritional value as the white broken rice of paddy farmers. Cheap imports could lead buyers to take less local broken rice, he said.

Noersalim warned that imports cannot take place outside the rules and said he will act without fear or favour. "Nobody should call me to talk about things that are wrong," he said, adding that the law must be applied. (Starnieuws)