Global wheat shortages not expected to hit NAMILCO’s operations

Though many countries are on alert for wheat shortages and/or price increases, Managing Director of the National Milling Company of Guyana (NAMILCO) Roopnarine Sukhai says the company does not anticipate any challenges.

Sukhai responded to concerns on Thursday over the developing food security threat at the company’s head office at Agricola, East Bank Demerara.  He explained that Guyana has been able to overcome previous wheat shortages because it imports wheat from North America and not Russia or Ukraine.

And should the shortage disrupt supply from North America, Sukhai says Guyana could rely on markets that started their own production more recently.

“It will affect the supply chain eventually (but) how much? We don’t know because in other parts of the world they have compensated by planting more.

“So it wouldn’t be as drastic as it was when it was announced a year ago that they would block exports out of Ukraine. It won’t be as significant as it was, I’m thinking,” the Managing Director said.

Still, the BBC reported on Monday Russia pulled out of a United Nations (UN) deal that ensured safe passage of grain shipments from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, across the black sea.

Moscow on Thursday warned that any ships going there would be seen as siding with Kyiv. Since then, Russia has bombarded Ukraine’s grain facilities in Odesa and other cities.

Because of that, some fear there will be shortages of food. Persons are also wary of price increases because of limited supply.

Sukhai, however, said that NAMILCO relies on shipments of wheat that are replenished over six to seven week intervals.

“We have very limited storage so we always try to top up to the max, we use and then a vessel comes in to tap up again.

“We have never had any shortages in over 54 years that we have been operating as a company, save on when it was banned in the country,” Sukhai said.

Though the company seems assured that it will not be affected by the shortage anytime soon, when Russia started its invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, there was a 15% increase on the prices for its flour products.

A statement by the company in May, 2022, noted that wheat had increased by 40% globally in just three weeks and also the cost of packaging, additives, and fuel hiked up.

Shortly after, the company’s operations manager, Ralf Hemsing told the News Room that the situation was being monitored.