An increasingly vociferous group of emerging (mostly women) agro-processors have told Stabroek Business that government must actively lobby for the removal of regional trade barriers to their products since Guyana continues to be an open market for regional products.
They asserted that this was apart from both the direct and indirect support of the government for the growth of the sector specifically through supporting a lobby for more generous lending terms for investment and providing direct financial backing for the importation of machinery that can improve the efficiency of the production side of their operations
There was also reaction to last week’s comment from local coffee producer, Louis Holder, regarding what he believes is the dichotomy between the recent introduction of more than 50 new imported food products on the Guyana market by the Trinidad and Tobago distributor ANSA McAl and the barriers preventing local products from accessing markets in that country. The local agro-producers told this newspaper that a point had now been reached where the government must do more to demonstrate their commitment to helping to open up regional markets for local agro produce.
