Alesie White Rice

The Commodity Chain; Where does Alesie White Rice Come from and how does it reach our supermarket shelf?

            A commodity chain is defined as ‘a network of labor and production processes whose end result is a finished commodity’ (Hopkins and Wallerstein 1986). In effect a commodity chain is the process of gathering, and transforming raw materials into goods to be finally distributed to consumers. With increasing inter connectivity and trade between nations, the need for commodity chain analyses is becoming increasingly important.

            The Alesie Group of Companies consists of a network of rice mills throughout the Caribbean, one of which is based in Guyana.  The Tropical island of Guyana is the third largest rice exporting country in South America. Most rice farms in Guyana are owned and operated by local farmers. Rice production in Guyana is highly mechanized, however some farmers still use traditional methods. Large wheeled tractors are used for land preparation, which includes ploughing, harrowing and puddling. The crop is direct seeded using pre-germinated seeds sown onto flooded fields (UNEP 2001). In a report dated October 2013, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, the Minister of Agriculture indicated that rice harvest would exceed 500,000 tonnes.

            The Alesie group of companies produces (but does not grow) five different varieties of rice, including; White, Parboiled, Basmati, Hom Mali and Five Minute. The Guyana grown white rice, of which I am interested, produces a larger grain than in any other region. The following paragraphs accompanied by my sketch map on the right follow the process by which Alesie White Rice moves from the farm in Guyana to our local supermarket shelf. 

           The rice harvested from the field is called a ‘paddy’, which means rice still covered by an outer shell. Farmers from several parts of Guyana cut their paddy, which is then loaded onto large trailer trucks that take the paddy to Alesie rice mills. Alesie does not ‘contract’ rice production to farmers; however, their mobile laboratory helps the local farmers produce the best quality rice in the market, which Alesie then purchases. Alesie owns and operates three rice mills, of which Rumzick Rice Processors (RRP) is the largest, located in Demerara road, Guyana. Once the trucks arrive at RRP, a sample of the rice is taken to test its quality. If the received grains satisfy the requirements, it is weighed and dumped into tunnels in the ground. These tunnels channel the rice paddies onto conveyer belts that transport the rice into the Silo (a silo can hold up to 100 tonnes of rice paddy).

            From the Silo the rice is then processed through a Sortex machine, which processes 1000 grains every 5 seconds. The Sortex firstly removes any grains or objects that are not rice paddies. It then sorts the paddies based on colour and surfaces that differ from the main product.  From the Sortex the rice moves onto a dampening machine which prepares the rice paddies to be grinded in the stone grinders. Stage one in the stone grinder removes the outer shell (paddy) from the rice itself. The removed shell is separated from the rice as it moves to the second stage. Stage two involves another stone grinder which polishes the rice. From here the rice is placed into storage units, then into either 100lb or 500lb (lb = pound) bags to be shipped.

            Trinidad Commodities limited orders rice from Alesie in Guyana. Once a purchase/order is submitted to Alesie (Guyana), the rice is loaded onto containers and trucked to the port to be shipped. A Cargo container can hold up to twenty-four (24) tonnes of rice, equivalent to 540 x 100lb bags of rice. The main shipping ports for rice from Guyana to Trinidad are Georgetown and New Amsterdam. Once loaded onto the cargo ship it can take between 2-3 weeks for arrival, sometimes longer depending on docking time at different ports. Upon arrival a Customs Clerk has to clear the container before it can be transported by truck to Trinidad Commodities Limited, located at #51 O'Meara Industrial Estate, Arima. 

            The rice at this stage is still contained in either 500lb or 100lb bags, which are not for final sale. These bags are cut open and the rice is placed into another Silo. The final packaging is supplied by Sun Delight packaging company which supplies 1lb, 2lb and 9lb bags for the rice. Trinidad Commodities Limited uses the packaging at their facility to package the rice. The rice is then placed in bales of 3x9lb, 24x1lb or 12x2lb. Orders are placed by local supermarkets such as Persad’s, JTA and Pricesmart throughout Trinidad and Tobago for the Alesie White rice. Once an order comes in to Trinidad Commodities Limited trucks are loaded and sent out to the various supermarkets and groceries to deliver the rice. From there the rice is unloaded and shelved for final sales to local consumers, like myself.  

What are the social and environmental growing conditions like?

            Guyana is spread over an average of 214,970 square kilometres, positioned between 1 and 9 North latitude and between 56 and 62 West longitude. This tropical island is home to approximately 735,554 people, twenty per cent (20%) of which depend on the rice industry for a livelihood. Guyana was historically one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere, but now has a per capita GDP of $8000(Purchasing Power Parity for 2012).  

            The Guyana rice industry is over 100 years old and employs over 150,000 people directly or indirectly and accounts for 13% of GDP. The sales of rice paddy generates about 20 billion Guyanese dollars yearly, which contributes significantly to poverty reduction, since many producers are small farmers who depend solely on rice farming for a livelihood. The rice is harvested twice yearly, with the first harvest from February to May and the second harvest from September to December.

            As I mentioned before, there are several farmers who supply Alesie with white rice paddies, but no official contract is signed between the farmers and the company. The names of some of the supplying farmers had to be kept confidential for ‘security’ reasons. Although there is no signed contract, Alesie goes out into the field, conducting tests to assure quality is kept high ensuring that farmers achieve best results in their crop yield. This enables farmers to profit while Alesie ensures a constant high quality supply.

            Rice production is concentrated mainly on coastal areas where approximately 90% of the population live. Rice is planted in four main regions, namely; Mahaica Abary/West Berbice, East Berbice/Black Bush Polder, Essequibo Coast and West Dem/EssIsies. The Coastal plain comprises of alluvial mud which is channelled out to sea by the Amazon River and deposited on Guyanese shores. This mud is high in fertility making it essential for rice production. Below is a diagram of areas where rice is grown.

            The Guyana rice industry faces a range of risks including; disease and pests, as well as flooding of vulnerable areas such as riverine areas like Mahaica and Mahaicony. Commodity price fluctuations in the market also pose risk to the farmers. Between the years 1997 to 2002 rice prices fell, but from 2003 onwards the price steadily increased. To alleviate the risk of flooding, government spent 2 billion dollars in improving the drainage system and irrigation along the coastal plain. They also invested in research and development geared towards; pest and disease resistant varieties, salt tolerate varieties and management practises.

            Guyana, being a member of CARICOM has benefitted from the common external tariff trade agreement. This has allowed then to trade with member countries easier and more freely. Trinidad and Tobago have culturally eaten more parboiled rice but Guyana is able to sell white rice to us. 

How has the product become meaningful to us?

            Alesie rice may not be specifically meaningful to us but rice on the whole is very meaningful and has become a part of our everyday lives. The extract below shows how rice production began in our island and where its appreciation grew out of;

‘The indentureship period was a boost to the plantation system and to the economy of the colony. Indians worked in both sugar, cocoa and coffee estates. The third crop of great importance to Trinidad was rice. This was entirely in Indian hands. Rice was introduced by Indians and to the present is mostly cultivated by them. By the 1870s, it was apparent that rice was being cultivated in the Caroni swamp; and to some degree in the Oropouche lagoon. In a 1960 study produced by Arthur and Juanita Niehoff entitled “East Indians in the West Indies”, it is said:

“In the first place there is a traditional sentimental value attached to growing and possessing large amounts of rice. Among Hindus rice is the one important crop in which religious rites are involved.” (Besson 2011).

           

            Over the years, rice cultivation in Trinidad has fallen significantly, but our people have been acculturated toward rice consumption. Our society is multi-ethnic and over all ethnicities rice is consumed. For decades rice has become part of Hindu religious ceremonies such as prayers, weddings and funerals. During prayer ceremonies our offerings are placed on a drawing outlined by rice. At Hindu weddings, there is a huge celebration called, ‘patching the lawa’ where rice is patched. This rice is then used for the wedding ceremony and thrown onto the wedding car (to bid good-bye and bless the newly wedded couple). It is also crucial to Indian cuisine, boiled and served with many other dishes as well as in local Indian delicacies (especially white rice). Apart from the attachment of rice to Hindu and Indian culture, its consumption has progressively been adopted into a ‘Creole’ culture. Creole foods include Pelau and what could be considered one of our national dishes; rice, crab and Callaloo.

            Rice is a commodity consumed by most in society; from the extremely poor to the richest in society. Rice of all kinds have been consumed by the majority of the population and will continue to be a part of our everyday life and culture.

            Alesie White rice packaging may add value to the product but white rice is very price elastic. Price elasticity of demand refers the substitution effect of one good for another due to price changes. If Alesie were to increase the price of their white rice, us consumers would easily shift to other brands of white rice, therefore, although Alesies packaging may add value to the product, it is not very significant. I think the main added value may be through appeal of the packaging.

Referencing:

·         Besson, A. G.. 2011. The history of Caribbean archives: Paria publishing co ltd.

http://caribbeanhistoryarchives.blogspot.com/2011/09/have-rice-be-wealthy.html (accessed 10th April, 2014)

·         Hopkins, T. and Wallerstein, I. (1986). Commodity chains in the world economy prior to 1800. Review X (1) 157-170.

·         UNEP, 2001, The Guyana Rice Industry.(no further information was provided for referencing)      http://www.unep.ch/etu/etp/events/Agriculture/guyana.pdf (accessed 10^th April, 2014)