Guyana sets sight firmly on Region’s US$4.5B food market

Oct 14, 2015 News

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… as Holder calls for level playing field across the board

Guyana is currently observing Agriculture Month. Yesterday, local exporters spoke of Government’s intention to have a more aggressive push towards capitalizing on the more than US$4.5B food import bill for the Region.
Agricultural Minister, Noel Holder, made the declaration as he addressed an Export Facilitation Workshop, organized by the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), at the Arthur Chung International Convention Centre.
The activity saw the participation of a number of local small, medium and large scale exporters along with a number of service providers.
Stakeholders benefitted from presentations and interactive sessions on preparation of produce for export, export brokerage documentation as well as GMC’s marketing information centre.
Presentations were also made by service providers in the industry, including representatives of the National Plant Protection Organization, Caribbean Containers, Tropical Shipping, Amerijet, Caribbean Airlines and Credit Info (Guyana) Inc. among others.
Export Earning
Holder said that almost 40 per cent of the nation’s total export earning, comes from Agriculture.
“Agriculture in Guyana is the foundation through which Guyana has built an export-oriented economy,” the Minister said.
He said that Guyana, as part of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and inherently a part of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), “we will make full use of the fact that CARICOM Countries import more than US$4.5B off food from outside of the Region.”
According to Minister Holder, “Guyana has its eyes firmly fixed on the opportunities that CARICOM provide as a net importer of food.” As such, the Agriculture Minister drew reference to the trade arrangements of CARICOM enshrined in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramus.
At the Regional level, Holder was adamant that the Agriculture Ministry will be lobbying its CARICOM counterparts, specifically the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), to ensure that the conditions outlined in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas are adhered to.
“These include the operation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME); enhanced marketing of industrial and agricultural commodities so as to ensure their international competitiveness,” said Holder.
He spoke, too, of seeking CARICOM’s help for the accelerated structural diversification of agricultural production, “measures for the accelerated development and marketing of services and to promote and develop policies and programmes to facilitate the transportation of people and goods.”
Level Playing Field
Holder also committed the Ministry to “aggressively lobby at the Regional and International levels, to resolve the non tariff barriers that affect the exportation of agricultural produce.”
This lobbying by the Agriculture Ministry, according to Holder, “will be done both at the bilateral level with individual trading partners and also at the CARICOM level.”
Holder told those present that as a CARICOM Member State, “we strongly believe that a level playing field must be in place.”
According to the Agriculture Minister, Guyana believes that the same conditions granted to extra regional countries’ products being imported to the region, must be extended to regional countries, “such as ours when we export to our sister CARICOM countries.”
Increased Exports
He also used the opportunity to urge the exporters to up the ante when it comes to their shipments.
According to Holder, “we need to move from a subsistence survival level, to higher commercial investments.”
The Agriculture Minister did concede that changing market conditions and policy requirements will “contribute to the success or failure of our agriculture policy, specifically marketing.”
Guyana’s 2015 Agricultural Month celebration is being held under the theme: “Exploiting our strengths, advancing agriculture and social protection.”
According to Holder, “GMC provides assistance and support to boost exports through trade facilitation to exporters and potential exporters.”
He said that GMC will also be looking to increase none sugar, none rice exports by 25 per cent over the next five years. The exporter workshop, according to Holder, provides New GMC with an opportunity to create linkages among the stakeholders, “educate and encourage exporters and potential exporters.”
He said the ultimate objective of the workshop “is to increase the exportation of non- traditional commodities both regionally and internationally.”
Government, he said, recognizes the need for increased production and agricultural diversification, which are both critical to sustained economic growth.
Financing
Recognizing that access to financing has been a major bug bear for those who want to scale up production and exports, Minister Holder said, “The Guyana Government will facilitate access to affordable credit to individuals or groups and will investigate in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, reestablishing an Agricultural and Development Bank to meet the financing needs of the Agricultural sector.”
The Ministry, he said, “will remain resolute in facilitating and coordinating the development of quality non-traditional agricultural produce for local and overseas markets.”
He spoke, too, of the strengthening of collaboration among other government agencies such as the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
This, he said, would serve to expedite export documents.
He did use the opportunity to remind that exporters looking to tarnish the image of the country through illegal exports and commodities that this will not be tolerated and defaulters will be dealt with condignly.

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