Minister of Commerce Manniram Prashad said the manufacturing sector will take centre stage at GuyExpo 2010, where particular focus will be placed on furniture makers.
GuyExpo will be hosted from September 23 to September 28 at the National Exhibition Site, at Sophia, under the theme, ‘Promoting Investment in a Sustainable Environment.’
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), this year, the main pavilion at the exhibition site has been reserved solely for participants from the manufacturing sector. Exhibitors, including major furniture manufacturers such as Comfort Sleep, NDS, Melsha’s and the Kissoon Group of Companies will be located in the pavilion, in order to keep focus on local products and furniture manufacturing.
Prashad said government agencies which had been previously located in the pavilion would be housed outside of the services sector and other parts of the ground that had been expanded. “This arrangement is a huge improvement for exhibitors of local products and manufacturing, especially in terms of furniture and other value-added products,” he is quoted as saying by GINA.
Prashad also said that concessions have been granted to craft producers, in order to attract more participation this year. He disclosed that a special subsidised payment package has been offered to craft exhibitors to encourage more participation, particularly among those from hinterland communities. “GuyExpo is not about making money,” he said, “…although we must break even, at the same time we must assist those who need assistance especially those craft producers who are coming from the hinterland and Amerindian communities.” Craft producers affiliated with the Craft Producers’ Associa-tion will benefit from concessionary prices, he said.
Prashad also revealed that organisers have seen a lot of interest from overseas participants and large contingents are expected from Suriname and Brazil. He anticipated that the trade fair will be a boon for overseas buyers and investors interested in joint ventures with local businesses. In anticipation, a business seminar for exhibitors and buyers on the “ease of doing business in Guyana” is to be held at the Guyana Inter-national Conference Centre.
The GuyExpo planning committee has been working feverishly to ensure that this year’s trade fair is a grand success, Prashad noted. According to him, the ministry was forced to limit the number of spaces sold to a single group to ensure maximum participation.
Categories of participation this year include art and craft, engineering, fashion design, food and beverage, food processing, horticulture, information tourism, manufacturing, photography and technology. Questionnaires will be distributed after the fair to garner feedback.
