Guyana records 2.8 per cent real GDP growth at mid-year

The continued implementation of government’s developmental thrust has laid a foundation for the economy to experience continued positive growth, as it has accomplished since 2006.
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh on Saturday indicated that this pattern is continuing as the country’s economy showed its resilience, recording a 2.8 per cent growth in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) up to mid-year.

Minister Singh, at a press conference held at the National Communications Network (NCN) on Home Stretch Avenue on the mid-year financial report for 2012, stated that the comprehensive assessment of the country’s economy over the course of the first half of the year demonstrated that the trend of positive real economic growth continued.
“This growth reflects continued progress on the diversification of the productive sector where we have now arrived at a point where we are no longer as we were 10 years ago, entirely dependent on one, two or three dominant sectors,” Minister Singh explained.
He added that significant strides have been made in diversifying the economy, and these realised the 2.8 per cent growth, despite the fact that a key production sector of sugar contracted.
“Given the significance of sugar and the volatility of sugar production in recent years, we have been computing a non-sugar GDP and, if you excluded sugar for the purposes of computing this non-sugar GDP… this non-sugar GDP actually grew by 6.2 per cent in the first half of the year,” Minister Singh explained.
Consistent with the real growth of 2.8 per cent, Minister Singh said that the total export earnings grew by 9.2 per cent to US$ 592.1 million.
Other sectors that contributed to the real growth that has been observed are: gold – whose production grew by 13.2 per cent to 184,929 ounces with export earnings amounting to US$ 268 million, which the finance minister said represents an increase of 16.8 per cent over the corresponding period in 2011.
“This is supported by continued strong economic prices, but in addition supported by a favourable and attractively strong policy environment, that promotes and encourages investment in the sector and one that has seen continued investment in productive capacity in the gold industry,” Dr Singh explained.

Bauxite
Additionally, the bauxite sector grew significantly by 41.9 per cent, with an export earning of US$ 79.4 million, which represent an increase of 21.8 per cent; rice production expanded by 1.4 per cent to 210,395 tonnes, with export earnings amounting to US$ 84.6 million.
“This of course is an extremely positive encouraging development, we have worked hard to attract overseas investment in the bauxite sector… we now have BOSAI and RUSAL as international investors, who we were able to attract in Guyana because of the work that we have done to make Guyana a place where international investors would want to come and do business,” he said.
Speaking directly to the bauxite sector, Minister Singh asserted that normalcy was and, continues to play an important role in bauxite operations at Linden, hence, the extreme importance for Linden to continue to be a place where investors want to do business, as there are good natural resources and talented people in that location.
The finance minister also indicated that the fisheries industry expanded by 13.8 per cent; interest rates trended downwards and inflation remained within acceptable norms at 1.8 per cent. Private Sector Credit expanded by eight per cent to Gy$ 145.3 billion and Foreign Direct Investment amounted to US$ 167.2 million in the first half of 2012.
Minister Singh called for all national stakeholders to pledge their energies and work together to maintain/ sustain the favourable policy environment that has obtained thus far in the country, which welcomes international investments.
He indicated that although progress has been made, traditional sectors remain important as such a natural interest for the continued profitability to remain, which means that in spite of the challenges, lasting commitments are being sought as there is a need for not only the Skeldon sugar factory, but also the sugar sector to achieve its desired production.
The finance minister noted that in light of the performance of the economy, citizens have access to finances with as low as (four per cent) interest rates on mortgages.