Gold off to terrific start for 2017

Apr 19, 2017 News

– But other industries projected to show decline – Finance Ministry Advisors

The Ministry of Finance is projecting another year of positive growth for Guyana and there are already indications that this is very likely to occur.
Strengthening the base of its conclusion thus far, are statistics gathered on the performance of the nation’s major industries for January last.
According to the Economic Policy Analysis Unit (EPAU), gold production for January 2017 was recorded at 44,959 ounces. This, the Unit said, is 25.1 percent above the total achieved in January 2016.
The EPAU said that this increase continues to be underpinned by strong performance by Guyana Gold Fields Inc. and Troy Resources along with greater declarations from the small and medium-sized miners. The members of the Unit said that this industry is expected to continue to experience positive growth in 2017.
While the gold sector is off to an outstanding start for 2017, other sectors are lagging behind.
According to the Unit, no sugar production was recorded for January 2017. This is expected as production is not generated until February of each year. Nonetheless, the Unit said that sugar production was targeted at 208,000 tonnes for 2017. However, due to ongoing issues at the Skeldon factory, this forecast will have to be revised.
Similar to sugar, no production was recorded for rice for January 2017. The Economic Analysis Unit said that sowing continued during January and is expected to continue into February. Furthermore, it was noted that rice production is targeted at 590,000 tonnes, provided that conditions remain favourable and new markets are found.
As for forestry production for January 2017, this amounted to 17,174 cubic metres compared with 25,733 cubic metres in January, 2016. The Unit said that lower production is expected for this industry as reorganization by Government continues. Production for 2017 is targeted at 297,070 cubic metres.
The members of the EPAU said that the forestry industry is also expected to continue to decline in 2017. They said that over the medium term, growth within the industry will rebound as more value added products are added.
With respect to bauxite production for January, last, 125,835 tonnes was recorded compared to 144,524 tonnes in January 2016. The Unit said that this was mainly due to lower demand.
Additionally, the Bauxite industry is targeted to grow by almost two percent in 2017, with growth expected to be sustained by rising global prices along with stronger demand during the year.
In relation to government expenditure, the Unit said that $7.2 billion was spent on transfer payments for January 2017, representing an increase of $4 billion or 127.5 percent compared to January 2016. The Economic Policy Analysis Unit said that this expansion in transfer expenditure was mainly due to a $3 billion subsidy given to the Guyana Sugar Corporation to cater for operational expenses.
In spite of the aforementioned, the EPAU said that economic growth for 2017 is targeted at 3.8 percent and is expected to be driven by growth in the mining and quarrying and services sectors.
Growth in the services sector is also expected to be underpinned by strong performances in the construction, electricity and water, transportation and financial industries.
Additionally, growth in the mining and quarrying sectors is expected to be driven by continued growth in the gold industry as production for both Guyana Gold Fields and Troy Resources is expected to rise; along with expected increased declarations from the small and medium sized miners due to favourable global prices.
The agricultural sector is expected to show improvements in 2017 with strong growth expected for the rice and fishing industries.

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