The requirements for exporting forestry products were highlighted at a workshop hosted on Thursday by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in collaboration with the Forestry Marketing Council of Guyana Incor-porated.
The workshop aimed at ensuring that the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), the Customs and Trade Administration (CTA) and stakeholders are fully aware of their obligations regarding forestry export procedures, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.
And Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who spoke at its opening at the CTA in Main Street, said it was always impressive when a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is steadily increasing, adding that this could only be achieved when all stakeholders produced and sold goods and services of a better quality and greater worth.
In his address, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said there had been complaints by exporters of delays in the procedures and the ministry through the GFC engaged with the CTA to deal with the matter in a special workshop.
Stakeholders participated in an interactive consultation with the objective of sharing ideas and improving the system of processing documents to ensure that there are no delays in exports of forest produce, Persaud said.
Meanwhile, Commission-er General of the GRA Khurshid Sattaur pointed out that not only was it important to ensure there was maximum revenue collection but there was also a need for the highest level of transparency and accountability in executing duties involving all parties – the packagers, exporters and customs brokers.
He acknowledged, GINA reported, that the present customs control applied to goods may not be adequate but added that major restructuring of the system was under way. This involves large-scale computerization, which will reduce the human intervention in the process. In addition, part of this system called the “Manifest Module” which requires the sharing of data on goods moving from one country to another will allow for more effective identification of high-risk traffic, GINA stated.
Head of the Finance Department at GFC Edward Goberdan observed that over the past years exports of forestry products have increased significantly and more markets are now demanding these products from Guyana.
“Export plays a key role in boosting foreign exchange earnings in the country and we certainly would like to see this increasing over the coming years. For this reason the GFC has been working with exporters and the CTA to enhance the process of exporting,” Goberdan is quoted by GINA as saying.
