Guyana and Venezuela extended a rice-for-oil deal for another year, said reports reaching here from Georgetown on Saturday.

The deal, under which Guyana will export over 200,000 tons of rice valued at 130 million U.S. dollars to Venezuela, is part of the PetroCaribe Agreement, the most important legacy of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the Caribbean neighbors.

Venezuela and its oil-starving Caribbean neighbors signed PetroCaribe Agreement in 2005, which provides the beneficiary countries an opportunity to pay goods and services over an extended period for the oil import from Venezuela.

Guyana's Agriculture Minister Leslie Ramsammy highlighted the extension of the deal as an indicative of the improving friendship and cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

"We look forward to more extensive collaboration in agriculture. We look forward to working with Venezuela, not only to developing our agriculture sector further, but that our two countries and our people will work together to end poverty and hunger in the Caribbean and Latin America," he said.

Venezuela's Nutrition and Food Safety Minister Felix Osorio underscored the newly elected President Nicolas Maduro's commitment to the arrangement that was initiated by his predecessor.

"It will be good to strengthen Venezuela's rice reserves and will also help to boost Guyana's rice industry," the Venezuelan minister said.

Rice is Guyana's second largest export of agriculture products after sugar. A total of 450,000 tons of rice was produced by Guyana in 2012, with 300,000 tons sold to other countries. Endi

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