-Ottawa trade commissioner
A breakthrough by the Canadian oil company CGX in pursuit of its search for oil in Guyana’s maritime space can change the course of Canadian investment in Guyana and pave the way for the importation of significant levels of Canadian equipment and services associated with the oil industry.
Senior Trade Commissioner at the Canadian High Commissioner in Port-of-Spain Joshua Hodgson told Stabroek Business in an exclusive interview earlier this week that Canada was keeping its fingers crossed for a breakthrough in Guyana’s search for oil since, apart from the “tremendous boost that this would mean for the Guyana economy” it would also open up “a range of potentially exciting possibilities for Canadian investment in Guyana.”
CGX has remained committed to offshore exploration despite the June 2000 eviction of its oil rig from Guyana’s maritime space by the Surinamese military. Earlier this year the company’s refusal to abort its oil exploration mission here was vindicated when the United Nations Commission on the Law of The Sea (UNCLOS) upheld Guyana’s maritime claim and deemed the Surinamese eviction of the CGX oil rig illegal.
According to Hodgson Canadian equipment and services in the oil sector had already proven their worth in the oil sector in various other countries as well as in Canada. “As far as equipment is concerned we have already proven ourselves to be more than up to some of the difficult conditions that obtain in Canada and elsewhere and there is every likelihood that Canadian oil sector equipment will work well here.
Hodgson said that Canada’s track record in the energy sector also derived from the fact that the country’s known oil reserves were the second largest in the world. Additionally, apart from being the ninth largest producer of oil Canada is the third largest producer of natural gas. Last year Canada also produced 840 million litres of ethanol.
Hodgson said that beyond these traditional sectors Canada was also seeking opportunities to market its road and timber processing expertise. According to Hodgson, Canada is also interested in providing equipment and services to Guyana in the mining, wood-processing and engineering sectors as part of its push to accelerate trade and investment relations with the country. Hodgson told Stabroek Business that Canadian investment had already impacted significantly in Guyana’s mining sector and that there was scope for interaction between Canadian businesses and local miners regarding further upgrading of the technology available to the mining industry here.
Meanwhile, Hodgson told this newspaper that opportunities existed for Guyanese producers of food products to take advantage of the “diaspora market,” particularly in Toronto. He said that fresh fruit and vegetables were distinct possibilities and according to Hodgson the market possibilities may even extend beyond the Caribbean diaspora since, increasingly, the various sections of the Canadian population were becoming curious about other food cultures.
According to Hodgson the size of the potential market available to Guyanese producers in Canada would mean that local exporters would have to “ramp up” their production if they are to take full advantage of the size of that market. “That will be the challenge for local producers,” Hodgson said.
And according to the Canadian diplomat, Guyanese entrepreneurs seeking to do business in Canada need to plan carefully in order to ensure that both the time and money invested in visiting Canada would be worth the while. “I believe that the Trade Facilitation Office in Canada and the various other institutions, including the High Commission here provide a more than adequate information base for local businesses. I also believe that face to face meetings between Guyanese and Canadian businessmen are important.”
Asked if Canada would be prepared to facilitate interaction between Guyanese and Canadian businesses through networking for a, Hodgson said that while his role in the process did not allow him to provide “a firm answer” on this, he believed that such networking may be possible “at a sectoral level.”
