Production statistics for locally manufactured products published by the Bureau of Statics and included in the Private Sector Commission’s (PSC) 2009 ‘Review of the Guyana Economy’ reflect a marginally better performance in the edible goods sub-sector, but a significant decrease in volume in some of the country’s better known commodities between 2008 and 2009 and only a marginal increase in some other well-known products.
In the edible goods category, rum recorded the largest production decline with volumes slipping by a whopping 33.5%, from 14,188.0 litres per annum (lpa] in 2008 to 8,434.7 lpa last year. Production of Malta also declined from 824,342.1 litres in 2008 to 723,461.8 litres last year while the volume of Guiness produced locally fell from 3,106.2 litres in 2008 to 2,870.2 litres last year.
Comparative figures for 2008 and 2009 also reflect a drop in baking fats/lard production from 729,329.0 kilogrammes to 523,397.0 kilogrammes while butter production also fell from 7,089.0 kilogrammes to 5,731.8 kilogrammes over the same period.
Significant production decreases were also recorded in some categories of industrial goods with footwear production showing the most dramatic decline from 25,901.0 pairs in 2008 to 2,077.0 pairs last year. Production of oxygen slipped from 94,612,345.0 litres in 2008 to 83,145,121.0 litres last year while acetylene production fell from 8,832,416.0 litres in 2008 to 5,838,827.0 litres last year. Modest production declines were also recorded in the paint and putty industries, with paints slipping from 2,488,666.5 litres in 2008 to 2,378,753.9 litres last year and putty production declining from 461,830.0 kilogrammes in 2008 to 427,111.2 kilogrammes last year. Production of snack foods also declined from 14,193 kilogrammes in 2008 to 12,583.9 kilogrammes last year while corrugated cartoon production also dipped from 3,255.7 square metres in 2008 to 3,070.5 square metres last year.
In the edible goods category Frostee pop production recorded the most significant production increase with quantities soaring from 68,173.0 cases in 2008 to 184,731.0 cases last year while wine production moved from 228,176 cases in 2008 to 327,780 cases last year. Margarine production also went up from 1,528,21.0 in 2008 to 2,021736.6 last year. Production of ghee jumped from 126,143.0 kilogrammes in 2008 to 138,848.0 kilogrammes last year. Both cereal and flour recorded production increases last year with cereal production more than doubling from 44,156.3 kilogrammes in 2008 to 101,669.0 kilogrammes last year and flour production increasing from 29,425.2 tons in 2008 to 36,485.7 tons last year.
In the industrial goods category laundry soap production rose from 28,524.0 kilogrammes in 2008 to 47,010.6 kilogrammes last year while production of detergents increased 737,400.0 kilogrammes in 2008 to 928.120.5 kilogrammes in 2009. Stockfeed production also recorded a modest rise from 44,711.9 tons in 2008 to 47,296.3 tons last year.
In its assessment of the performance of the manufacturing sector last year the PSC declared that there had been a significant decline in industrial goods while production of edible goods fared better. Last year the manufacturing sector accounted for six per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
