With the coming of oil, Guyana has become a magnet for many in the Caribbean seeking to profit from the sector. But with Guyana facing difficulties to export certain commodities, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Presidential candidate Dr Irfaan Ali believes now is the time to knock down these trade barriers.
Ali was at the time making an appearance on a local radio programme, where he was asked if he would be willing to consider giving the local Private Sector the same incentives enjoyed by foreign investors.
He added that there must be an equal playing field. “But we have to look beyond that. We have a Private Sector that we need to invest in to make them competitive to even get on an equal playing field. And we cannot ignore that responsibility.”
Government, he added, has said they have a lot of investors rapping on the door but “I’ll give you a story. There was a group of farmers producing lime. And they came to me and said, two years now we’re trying to get lime into Trinidad and we can’t get in”.
Ali related that he called the relevant authorities in Trinidad and Tobago seeking answers for his compatriots’ struggles to export to the twin-island republic. He noted that an investor eventually stepped forward and exported limes.
“The lime was left to rot on the wharf. By the time bureaucratic delays were looked at, the lime was left to rot. This new energy in Guyana offers us an opportunity. And those same Private Sector bodies who come to Guyana and want to talk about opportunities here, must be willing to go out of Guyana and break down those barriers,” Ali, a former Housing and Tourism Minister said.
“They must be willing to go out of Guyana and to their Government, ensuring that Guyanese get an equal playing field when our goods and services is exported to those jurisdictions. We have energy, fine. We must be open; we must embrace all investors. But in the same breath, we must ensure that our interests are protected.”
Barriers
Even with oil, it is important for Guyana to diversify its economy and find markets for other commodities. Of recent, however, Guyana has had to contend with protectionist measures from the United States, United Kingdom and Trinidad. In the case of the US, the country imposed a ban on the importation of catfish from Guyana.
In explaining the reasons for the ban’s imposition, Veterinary Public Health Unit Director, Dr Ozaye Dodson had said that Guyana fell short of the US standards in three areas. In the first place, there were issues regarding the presence of inspectors.
There were also issues with insufficient documentation to verify the steps being taken in the sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) process. There was also insufficient documentation specifying how the industry manages adulterated catfish products.
When it comes to the UK, its Environment Agency imposed restrictions on greenheart importation since 2015. At the time, it was claimed that proof of sustainable sourcing of the forest product was inadequate, and this has since resulted in a drastic decrease in export of the product to the UK.
In December 2016, the EA relaxed the restrictions on greenheart, but only began to accept Category A FSC 100 per cent greenheart from Iwokrama. Guyana has, however, been involved in talks under the Guyana-European Voluntary Partnership Agreement to lessen the restrictions
In 2019, Jamaican authorities also rejected some 70 metric tonnes of white rice.
Panama rejected some 20 containers of rice from Guyana back in September 2018.
Rice is a major contributor to the Agriculture Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Guyana. Guyana is presently a major paddy producer, and one of the leading exporters of rice in the region.
