Is the manufacturing sector dying? Pt 4…Our manufacturers need to step up, apply modern technologies - GMSA

Is the manufacturing sector dying? Pt 4…Our manufacturers need to step up, apply modern technologies – GMSA

Aug 19, 2016 News

Roti imported from Suriname.

By Kiana Wilburg
“We are painstakingly aware that the importation of certain items which we have the capacity to produce represents a gross embarrassment to not only the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) but the nation by extension. And we cannot sit back as a nation any longer and do nothing about it.”
Those sentiments were shared by some of the Executive Members of the GMSA during an interview with this newspaper. The members said that for years, they have lobbied the relevant authorities about the challenges plaguing the sector and many of their complaints fell on deaf ears.
They agreed however that the manufacturers, the Association, the Government, quality management agencies, the educational systems and the Government must, now more than ever, find it imperative to take the necessary steps so as to enable locals to reclaim their markets.
One Executive Member said, “What Guyana is experiencing is a tidal wave of importation of absurd goods, and it is overwhelming now, because no one cared enough to do anything meaningful about it in the first place. If we are to move forward, then we have to be honest with ourselves. We, the Association, tried our best in a number of areas. Have we done enough? I would say no. But an Association on its own cannot save the sector, and an Association is not solely responsible for what is taking place right now…pointing fingers would not move us forward.”
The Members said, however, that while some have spoken to the need for more concessions to be granted to the sector, attention must be paid to other crucial challenges.

Cool Cane – Sugar Cane Juice imported from Canada

Another Executive Member said that one of the most critical challenges facing manufacturers is the unreliable and exorbitant cost of electricity. Whereas the best long term solution is indeed renewable and stable hydro power, he recommended that additional incentives need to be provided for solar, wind and biomass producers.
Another inhibiting factor that was raised by the members was the very high trade transaction costs and inordinate customs delays during import and export transactions.
They said, too, that the limited domestic market for local produce poses another challenge, as does the virtual absence of a dedicated market focus, particularly for products/services enshrined in the active Bilateral and Multilateral Trade Agreements.
The Members stressed that there is also a need for the current Go-Invest Institutional Framework to be strengthened and existing mechanisms revamped if they are to successfully modernize the accommodation of new manufacturing businesses.
One longstanding member of the Association said, “Our manufacturers generally need to step up and implement modern technologies…Also, more consideration should be given to increasing the range and quantity of fiscal incentives for locally manufactured products without adversely impacting on regulations enshrined in the Caribbean Common Market and other Bilateral and Multilateral Trade Agreements”.
The GMSA Members said that significantly, the relevant authorities need to look into comprehensive and enforceable steps which can be taken to curtail unfair competition from smuggled imports, from dumping and by large-scale importation of cheap foreign goods.
With regard to occupational skill demand and supply, the Members agreed that there is a need for continuous Labour Market Intelligence Surveys.
“This should be complemented by Competency Based and Entrepreneurial Skill Training and Development Programmes in public and private education curricula. The Private Sector should also lend support to the introduction of a ‘National Training Levy’ and the establishment of a Skills Bureau to broker specialized and emerging technical skills.”
They added, “It is just as important to ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Standards are adequately resourced to make certain that manufacturers comply with existing and foreseeable Environmental Management Standards demanded by importing countries.”
The GMSA members said, too, that they would like to see Research and Development Institutes such as the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, the University of Guyana and other resource-based agencies develop stronger partnerships.
They said that the partnering groups could provide scientific data on identification, specifications and potential uses for raw materials, improvement of yields and productivity in the recovery and/or value added processes.
“A little into the future, we see this developing into pilot projects and the formulation and sale of patents. The proceeds should be able to recover cost outlays.”
Should these interventions be pursued and implemented in the short to medium term, the GMSA members firmly believe that a number of objectives will be realized for the national good.
They believe that those within the sector will be able to manufacture and market high quality, value added products and services; enjoy substantial enhancement of productivity, production capabilities and scope, as well as benefit from the opening up of new markets and the expansion of current market share.

1 thoughts on “Is the manufacturing sector dying? Pt 4…Our manufacturers need to step up, apply modern technologies – GMSA”

Surujpaul Rampersaud August 19, 2016 at 7:01 am

There is a belief among economists that as the middle class expands so will the demand for certain sophisticated goods and services. At least this is the view of many in the US that the expansion of the middle class in China and Mexico has led to greater demand there for American manufactured goods.
Guyana has a problem of ” marketing its products”. We cannot stand up to competition and we continue to live in the past where people are expected to grasp at anything thrown to them. Those days are long gone.
There is now a problem with the diaspora. The first and second generation have a longing of what they left behind. This trend is now fading and the third generation has lost the taste and loyalty. Further, as the diaspora becomes settled, they are producing some of the same things that they used to bring from Guyana.
We can point out all the negatives of imported goods but can the alternatives we offer measure up. We have a long way to go but the path is not difficult. We can face it boldly or we can just give up. The time is fleeting by quickly but our government which campaigned as a agent of change is not taking the bull by the horns. It seems to await for things to happen rather than making things happen