Of roughly 300 GuyExpo 2010 booths only about 23 showcased locally manufactured products while there was a much larger number of food and beverage stalls which catered to the big crowds.
Patrons and exhibitors agree that this year’s Guy-Expo was good but it was also noted that the fair has become more of a national ‘lime’ than a trade show. Exhibitors also said organisers should have ensured that the booths at the six-day fair were better ventilated and that the flow of traffic was better managed.
This year’s fair boasted nearly 300 booths featuring photography, agro processing, manufacturing, engineering, services, horticulture, craft, games, food and beverage and a number of other industries. But it was the food and beverages and services industry that dominated.
Two days before the opening of GuyExpo, Tourism Minister Manniram Prashad had said that more space was made within the grounds of the Sophia Exhibition site to accommodate more stalls. That space was outfitted with food stalls which offered a variety of local and fast foods. There were two food courts and just about every brand of beer occupied some part of the lawns. A massive area was also set aside for entertainment.
Several tents also housed services offered by insurance companies and airlines as well as sold many brands of cellular phones. Besides cell phone giants Digicel and GT&T, there were several businesses selling mobile phones and other electronics.
The main auditorium housed many small businesses in the craft and food processing industry but some big companies like Caribbean Containers Inc, Namilco and Ansa McAl were also housed there. The Ministry of Agriculture exhibition was the largest; occupying several booths in the auditorium.
One small business in the main auditorium, Pomeroon Delight, said that it has seen an increase in production since it participated in last year’s fair. Fourteen women process and bottle peppers and preserved fruit among other things. Speaking for the company, Vilma Da Silva told Stabroek News that persons have shown an interest in distributing its products and as such they would have to increase production. She said too that production does not exceed a million dollars but, “This GuyExpo has been good, we got a lot of new customers.”
There were some 23 booths classified under local manufacturing including mostly furniture and food processing companies. In local food processing, Sterling and Namilco were the only big names among the local food processing businesses.
Meanwhile, in the furniture manufacturing business many of the exhibitors were long-time attendees at GuyExpo including Comfort Sleep, GuyAmerica, GFM and Starcraft. They were housed in the annex auditorium. GFM Sales Manager Anand Persaud said that this year’s trade fair was an “improvement from last year” but noted that organisers needed to provide more ventilation. Patrons crammed into the many booths housed in the auditorium and at times the heat was unbearable.
An exhibitor at the Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation booth echoed the call for more ventilation. The woman pointed to a number of rusted, metal fans that had been installed above her booth, noting that though the dials were on, the fans were not working. Meanwhile, the owner of Comfort Sleep noted that while GuyExpo has been beneficial to his company over the years, he says that it seems to have become more of an entertainment attraction than a trade fair.
Craft production was the smallest business represented. While some craft producers say they came for the exposure and others said they have seen an increase in business, many complained that the booths were too costly. Seemingly forgotten were the Amerindian craft on display at the Amerindian Village. However, some of the exhibitors who stayed over from Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations said that persons have been visiting their stands.
Meanwhile, ask any patron what they thought of the exhibition and the response would be that it was great, even though many persons just window shopped and collected the numerous leaflets that were being distributed. One couple said that the Expo has been helpful to them since they were remodelling their home and now knew where they could go.
An overseas visitor at the fair, Mrs Kong, said that she liked the wooden furniture displayed. She said too in the UK wooden furniture is expensive and she questioned whether locals could afford such extravagant works. “They’d have to be very rich,” she laughed.
While the public’s response to the trade show was mainly positive, it was clear that traffic arrangements were poor. There was a specific route to the Exhibition Centre and a number of streets near the site were closed to vehicular traffic causing a massive traffic build-up.