GuyExpo offers meaningful exposure to manufacturers

Oct 01, 2011 Editorial

Another year and another exhibition of the products made in Guyana. The exhibition is about showcasing some of the things that we manufacture more often than not from raw materials acquired right here in Guyana. The forum is GuyExpo. It has attracted manufacturers from across the length and breadth of the country.
When this exposition first started a few decades ago the idea was to give local manufacturers a break. Many had been working quietly, supplying the people in the immediate vicinity. Later, they would either travel to neighbouring communities or send emissaries to solicit expanded markets. Many were caught up in this exercise that caused most of the enterprises to remain little more than family entities.
Those who produced household articles were at a disadvantage because it was not easy to get their products to catch the eye of the potential buyer. Marketing was not an art. Later, advertising in newspapers and on television helped these enterprises but then again, this only took root about two or three decades ago.
However, such advertisements did not allow potential buyers to initiate discussions on issues such as price and modification of the articles.
And so GuyExpo became the showcase. Since its first hosting, there have been many who would boast that their success could be attributed to the exposition that the government created. Some have expanded their operations and others have found overseas markets.
In the early days when the focus was on buy local the exposition was about showing people the things that could be made from local materials. It was more about allowing people to become self reliant.
Those days have changed; the exposition is about capturing foreign markets. It is also about making manufacturers of developments in their very industry that could see improvements to whatever is being fashioned.
Early exhibits would have been hard pressed to challenge similar products made in other countries. People had a poor idea of packaging and many placed little emphasis on this aspect of marketing. GuyExpo has changed this approach. Not only is it a showpiece for those who want to gawk at the exhibits, it is also a place where ideas are formed and business deals are concluded.
But it is the international attraction that has grabbed our attention. For example, this year Suriname has come with exhibits. This not only exposes goods from the neighbouring Republic to potential buyers in Guyana; it also offers local producers of similar items an opportunity to compare productions.
Such expositions cost money. The local entrepreneurs must be prepared to spend money not only to mount their exhibitions but also to reach out to people whom they wish to be their customers. These entrepreneurs are often reluctant to spend their money to promote their business. They advertise the least.
There are those who also put their best foot forward for purposes of exhibitions like GuyExpo but when they sell the same products the customer often has cause to complain. What such exhibitors fail to recognize is that their reputation is sullied and people avoid them.
More recently, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards began to look at standards in production and to award a mark. It has also undertaken the task of policing the various manufacturers and producers to ensure that standards are maintained.
This, together with the move by people to buy the imported equivalent of the local thing, has caused a massive improvement in local productions. Condiments are labeled in attractive packages and bottles, just as is the case on the international market.
These developments signal something good. They signal the development of a labour force that might have been unemployed otherwise. They also offer a training ground for young people who may not have had the benefit of a sound academic education but whose skills would see them creating things the likes of which adorn the various booths of GuyExpo.
Yet there is a fear that Guyana is still a country of exhibitors. The means of production in many cases are not as sophisticated as to increase productivity. But they are far removed from the days when they were exclusively labour intensive.
There was a plan for the country to have a permanent exhibition site. Indeed, one was create but there were no takers. Permanent exhibition is still a dream.

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GuyExpo offers meaningful exposure to manufacturers

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