Local manufacturers are to attend a major Industrial and Trade Fair in Canada next year ahead of negotiations for the implementation of the keenly anticipated Canada-CARICOM Trade Agreement.
The mission to Canada is one of several initiatives announced at the December 3 Fourteenth Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony hosted by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) at which several private sector projects driven by technical and financial support from Canada were announced.
Beginning next year the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO) will execute a three-phase project financed by the Canadian International Develop-ment Agency (CIDA) aimed primarily at boosting capacity in the areas of project management, trade facilitation and competitiveness in the local private sector. The project will assign Canadian consultants to the various private sector sub-sectors to assist in the development and execution of work plans. Under the CIDA-funded project the GMSA will also receive technical support for its Trade and Investment Sub-Committee in the conduct of trade seminars while the third component will see expert in-plant consultancy interventions that target improvements in productivity and competitiveness.
The local private sector will also benefit from CIDA funding for the establishment of a Trade Facilitation Office (TFO) in two sub-projects relating to packaging and artisan design. The first, a Cdn$64,000 grant will enable the completion of a needs analysis of the local packaging industry and will enable the implementation of specialized training programmes for local manufacturers of packaging materials and exporters of agro-related products.
The artisan project will attract a Cdn$115,000 grant that will facilitate the staging of a practical workshop on Exporting to Canada which will focus on the administrative, procedural and regulatory requirements and in-plant training on product design improvements. The trade mission to Canada will also be undertaken under the CIDA-funded support programme. The artisan project will last 15 months and will expose local, small and medium-sized enterprises. (SME’s) to ISO 1400 standards, registration, certification and accreditation; build capacity through training and development in environmental issues; introduce Clean Production Practices (CPP) and Environmental Management Systems (EMS), assist the GMSA to secure access to external funding for environment-related projects and establish innovative projects to address pollution control, product recycling and waste disposal.
