The resuscitation of GuyExpo last week following a hiatus of seven years was a commendable initiative given the fact that the optional avenues for product promotion for farm produce and their by-products have always been decidedly limited. GuyExpo, arguably, may well have been one of the more commendable state-driven exercises to bring buyers and sellers together. Its other major accomplishment was that it provided a marketing avenue the extent of which many of the micro and small businesses had not, hitherto, experienced. If GuyExpo, in itself, had not always provided a ‘seasonal’ market it at least served as a ‘testing ground’ for small agro processors, primarily, who, on account of the size of the event and the market potential that inhered therein, resulted in an enhanced producer interest in issues like product presentation (packaging and labeling).
Indeed, the advent of GuyExpo coincided with further exalted ambitions for agro processors, particularly, including some measure of exposure to regional and international markets. Unquestionably, the return of GuyExpo (and we must hope it is a long-term return) is likely to serve as an incentive to small and medium-sized enterprises in the agro processing sector, particularly, though not necessarily, exclusively. This will only happen if its organizers set their sights on incrementally ‘raising their game’ in terms of what the event has to offer. New dimensions should be added to the event every year… like free (or at least subsidized) participation for young, emerging Agro Processors, Product Presentation and Tasting Competitions. Beyond those, the organizers may also wish to offer meaningful incentives to participants whose product presentation suggest that they are taking their agro processing pursuits seriously. Significantly, breaks in the staging of GuyExpo appear to have done little if anything to diminish popular enthusiasm for the event.
Its return, it should be noted, coincides with the emergence of Guyana’s now oil-driven economy and with an enhanced visitor and investor interest in Guyana. Accordingly, while it was missed in its absence its return is, unquestionably, a positive development as much as it is a timely one.
