Guyana tackles ‘hurdles’ in accessing CARICOM markets

FACILITATING trade and investments has been a hallmark of Guyana for years, but President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, believes that the same courtesy has not been extended to this nation, as there are several hurdles right in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which have to be erased in order for there to be a balanced playing field.

Guyana is on the cusp of economic transformation thanks to its new-found oil wealth and other resources which are being repositioned to promote economic growth. This potential transformation and increasing attention from foreign and local investors have placed Guyana in a position to lead negotiations and develop competitive policies.
“For the first time we are negotiating from in front and with great strength,” said President Ali during his address at the launch of the Canada-Guyana Chamber of Commerce at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, on Friday.

This new position is critical for Guyana, as the President believes that the country has been treated unfairly for years although it has been facilitative to international, regional and even indigenous investors.

“We were trying to get our produce into CARICOM for years… we are trying… we have facilitated investments from other partners without any hurdles and our private sector never complained and said to scale back.

“We have not been treated the same way, but it has to change. We are going to make investments and share opportunities, but we must get an even and balanced playing field,” said the President.

It is for this reason that President Ali said that the country will form a joint team comprising government officials and private sector stakeholders to “break down” the ‘hurdles’ that exist in the CARICOM markets.

Sections of the media had reported that Guyana has complained consistently to CARICOM about non-tariff barriers, disguised as plant and animal health rules, to its honey, ice cream as well as pineapples and other fruits, vegetables, and ground provisions, in a number of member states.
Vice-President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Timothy Tucker, was reported as saying in 2019 that: “We’ve had situations where we are limited in what we can export to the Caribbean, even to Trinidad. They’ve put non-tariff barriers on honey; they just released the ones on pepper and pineapple.

LOT OF BARRIERS
“There are still a lot of barriers on honey, pineapple, pumpkins. Also, you had situations where, when Guyana was exporting coconut water and its products, they, themselves, shut that industry down.”

The road to addressing those and other hurdles will start with a preparation of a list of all the impediments to trade in CARICOM markets. This is expected to be prepared by the joint team.
President Ali affirmed that the government will ensure that all barriers to trade and investments are removed and that the local private sector gets a level playing field to grow and develop outside of Guyana.

It was reported that for years, Guyana’s ‘potential’ to become the breadbasket of the Caribbean has been under the spotlight and while the rhetoric has outweighed action on this front, the country will be looking to realise its potential in the coming years, with immediate focus on tapping at least 15 per cent of the US$5 billion regional food import bill.
Most of the commodities, which form part of this huge bill, are sourced from the “developed world” while Guyana, a member state of CARICOM, has the potential to supply a sizeable amount of those commodities.

It was reported that 10 commodities – food preparations, wheat, rice, chicken, non-alcoholic beverages, maize, soya bean, sugar and palm oil — account for more than 40 per cent of CARICOM’s food import bill.

Immediately, based on this list, Guyana has the potential to supply rice, sugar and poultry, among many other things. And, there have already been attempts by government to create a business-friendly environment by removing Value Added Tax (VAT) on the poultry industry and removing VAT and duties on machinery and equipment for mining, forestry, agriculture and manufacturing.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), in October 2013, had said the region’s high food import bill puts pressure on already-stressed Caribbean national budgets, through the need for increased foreign exchange to purchase imports and the fact that higher food prices also require increased social protection programmes.
So, if Guyana is able to tap this bill, it would also mean that the country would be able to supply commodities at reduced costs because the overhead expenses such as shipping would not be exorbitant.