Commerce Minister disappointed at minimal value-added on agri produce

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad has told Stabroek Business that he remains disappointed that agricultural products grown in Guyana continue to be exported in large quantities and processed elsewhere.

“Peanuts and peppers, particularly, are being bought from Guyana and taken to other countries in the region where they are processed, packaged and re-sold. What that means is that the value-added is lost to us. This is obviously a concern for us and something that we need to address our minds to correcting,” Prashad said.

And according to Prashad his Ministry is prepared to engage local investors, in partnership with overseas investors to ensure that locally produced agricultural products are transformed into manufactured goods here in Guyana.

The packaging of locally produced goods was one of the issues that arose during the forum organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce as part of GuyExpo and Prashad told Stabroek Business that improved packaging was inextricably linked to boosting the country’s manufactured goods. “We definitely need to see a higher level of investment in packaging,” Prashad said.

Prashad told Stabroek Business, however, that securing optimum benefits from such ventures “will take time,”   identifying “pricing, packaging and presentation” as issues that need to be dealt with. “We have an ongoing focus on issues of pricing and packaging which we are pursuing in order to raise standards in these areas,” he added,

Meanwhile, Prashad told Stabroek Business that his Ministry is now approaching local service providers in the hotel industry to discuss issues of pricing in the context of their competitiveness. “What is happening in Guyana is that hotels always have a single price. You never get offers like week-end specials. On the other hand when you travel to destinations like Barbados, for example, these offers are available. We want to see those kinds of offers introduced here.

Prashad said that he believed that local hotels and tour operators can make it more affordable to Guyanese. “A good example is the special packages on offer for visits to Kaieteur. That started with Air Services Ltd. And we have now been able to bring Roraima Airways on board. What this has meant is that more Guyanese can now see Kaieteur at a reduced price.