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Growth of Guyana’s economy provides immense opportunities for investors – Agri. Ministe
Kaieteur News – On Tuesday, while delivering his address at the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce, “Opportunities for Doing Business in Guyana” stakeholders’ meeting, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha told investors that the growth of Guyana’s economy provides immense opportunities for business, investment and trade.
Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha.
The stakeholder’s meeting was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. While discussing some possible areas for investment in the agriculture sector, the minister disclosed that Guyana’s agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors are expected to expand by some 8.9 percent this year. He shared that Guyana has seen heightened consumer preferences as a direct result of the influx of expatriates to serve oil and gas and auxiliary sectors. This, he added, has led to an increased demand for processed foods with greater domestic value-added.
The minister then said, “In light of the increasing demand for food, there is a high potential for future growth in the downstream components of the food value chain particularly processing, wholesaling, retailing and logistics. The Government of Guyana recognizes the importance of partnering with the private sector to improve and develop our food systems. As a result, the Government of Guyana has facilitated and created an environment that supports investments across all sectors.”
Minister Mustapha also said that there are opportunities that would guarantee favourable returns in both the traditional and non-traditional agriculture sectors.
The Argiculture Minister then stated that in the traditional and non-traditional sectors, there are many investment opportunities. He then listed the rice sector and stated that opportunities exist for rice production in Region Nine, where vast Savannah lands are available. Minister Mustapha also pointed out the other areas for investment for the downstream processing of rice into different kinds of pasta, noodles, cereals, snack foods, etc.
Minister Mustapha added, “For corn and soya beans, the soil in Guyana’s Immediate Savannah has adequate soil and climatological conditions for the implementation of large-scale grain farming for these crops to about 85,000 acres. There are also areas for investment in the poultry, beef, swine, and small ruminant production sector. Agro-processing and aquaculture are also two subsectors with great promise that would guarantee tremendous returns on your investment.”
Also, during his two-day visit to the twin-island Republic Minister Mustapha met with several Guyanese-born businessmen and women.
Since taking office the government has been adamant about engaging and encouraging Guyanese living overseas to play their part in the country’s development by returning home and investing in the economy. As such while speaking with the Guyanese business personnel, the minister gave them a glimpse of some of the investment opportunities in the agriculture sector in Guyana and also invited them to explore the possibilities for doing business in the country.
To this end he said, “Invest in not just transforming Guyana’s agri-food system but the CARICOM Region’s Agri-food system, as Guyana plays a major role in providing food to the Region.”
He also highlighted that the government was aggressively working on creating an environment conducive to the growth and development of the country.
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