Guyana’s fruit, vegetables, ground spices and other local condiments are now available in the Guyana Shop, a retail outlet for local products only, located at Robb and Alexander Streets.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud at the launching of the outlet on the ground floor of the Guyana Market-ing Corporation (GMC) said that the shop’s opening was no coincidence and was intended “to ride on the world cup banner.”
Minister Persaud said that Guyana had sufficient fruit and vegetables for our foreign guests as well as for local consumption so there would be no reason for price hikes during the CWC period.
It is hoped that overseas businessmen would visit the shop and become interested in forging ties which could lead to export markets.
Last year Guyana exported US$7M in non-traditional goods with US$4M of this going to regional markets – a tiny amount considering the US$3B import food bill in the region. Guyana, the minister said, would need to increase its exports to the region and beyond.
Locally the shop is expected to increase awareness of the ‘Guyana brand’ and encourage more retailers to sell the local products on display there. There are 400 different items for sale in the new store, ranging from craft, sweets, pasta and noodles, soft drinks and cassava bread, among others. General Manager Nazim Hassan of GMC said that in 1998 the GMC began retailing local products on the ground floor after having ceased operation for 12 years. While this had given local non-traditional products exposure, and over the years more local products had made their way into supermarkets, sales were still at a minimum level.
The Guyana Shop also boasts a Marketing Informa-tion Centre where agro-processors can receive information on marketing, foreign and local buyers and business related services for farmers and exporters.
Chairman Geoffrey DaSilva of the Board of Directors of the GMC noted that the information centre was not a library where booklets would be given, but “an organizational centre,” where officers were expected to work with farmers and agro-processors to get projects started and give assistance in creating linkages whether local or overseas. He called for more cooperation among medium, large and small farms to meet market demand in areas such as spice production and pineapples.