A container of rice valued at $250,000 has been reported missing from the compound of JMH Enterprises Ltd, the country’s biggest rice importer.

According to a report on CNC3’s 7 pm newscast on Thursday, the container was discovered missing on Saturday after employees completed an inventory of the stock.

General Manager of JHM Enterprises Quintin Cabralis said he was concerned that the missing bags of rice would be sold illegally.

He said the police had been informed and the company had been in continuous contact with the police since the report was made. However, he said the company had not received any firm feedback.

“Our real concern is that we have products out there illegally,” Cabralis said.

He appealed to supermarket owners to ensure that their supplies came from legitimate wholesalers or customers of JMH.

He said, “If we go out or if the police go out and find one of those codes (bar codes on the bags) in your place, it means that you would have received stolen goods.”

He said there would be no shortages because of the missing container.

“We have containers on the port right now,” Cabralis added, “We are just clearing containers from a previous shipment. We have no shortage of supply and it is not likely we will have a shortage of supply in the near or even the distant future.”