Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud on Monday moved to allay industry fears of an imminent imposition of restrictions on the export of timber and value-added products from the sector triggered by a letter dispatched last week to business houses by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) informing them of export restrictions from September 1.
Amidst publicly expressed fears voiced by exporters of value-added products and backed by both the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) that export restrictions might result in drastic reduction in the scale of their operations and, in one case, the laying off of hundreds of employees, Persaud engaged stakeholders at a hastily arranged meeting on Monday where the controversial GFC missive was rescinded. However, lingering fears that the forestry sector may still remain hard-pressed to meet the cumulative needs of an accelerated domestic housing drive and a growing external demand for
