Latest update December 19th, 2025 12:30 AM
Oil slump drags down Guyana exports
…earnings plunge 11.5% in first half of 2025
(Kaieteur News) – Guyana’s export momentum faltered in the first half of 2025, with overall export receipts falling 11.5 percent to US$9.07 billion, according to the Bank of Guyana’s Half-Year Report.
The downturn, the Central Bank noted was driven largely by lower earnings from crude oil, rice, sugar, timber and other exports, while gold and bauxite were the only major commodities to record increases.
Gold export earnings climbed to US$556.3 million, a rise of 36.1 percent or US$147.5 million compared to the end of June 2024. The report said this was due to higher export volume and a stronger average price. Declarations pushed gold exports up by 690 ounces to 195,486 ounces, while the average price per ounce moved from US$2,099.04 to US$2,845.95.
Bauxite also performed better, with earnings reaching US$68.6 million, an increase of US$31.1 million from the same period last year. This was linked to a significant jump in export volume, which grew to 1,272,021 metric tonnes. Export prices, however, fell sharply from US$153.11 to US$53.91 per tonne.
Meanwhile, sugar exports continued to struggle. Earnings dropped to US$3.6 million, down 47.6 percent, as export volume fell by 47.2 percent. Exports totaled 4,533 metric tonnes, with CARICOM accounting for 95.9 percent of shipments. Despite the lower volume, the average export price saw a slight increase to US$784.77 per tonne.
Rice export earnings also dipped, ending the period at US$123.1 million — US$4 million lower than last year. This occurred even as exports grew by 5.5 percent to 224,963 metric tonnes. The EU’s share of Guyana’s rice exports fell sharply, while Latin America’s share rose to 54.6 percent. The average export price dropped 8.2 percent to US$547.35 per tonne.
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Timber earnings totaled US$9.1 million, reflecting a 4.1 percent decline linked to reduced export volume. Timber exports fell to 14,032 cubic metres, though the average export price increased by 38.5 percent to US$649.53 per cubic metre.
Crude oil, Guyana’s dominant export, recorded a drop in earnings to US$8.15 billion — a decline of US$1.28 billion year-on-year. Export volume grew modestly to 116.1 million barrels, but the average price slid from US$83.39 to US$70.27 per barrel, driving down overall receipts. Other export categories, including fish and shrimp, diamonds, prepared foods, pharmaceuticals, wood products and re-exports, collectively fell by 30.2 percent to US$159 million. The decline was largely due to lower receipts from re-exports, which dropped by US$81.8 million.
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