Private Sector Commission Chairman Ronald Webster has said that small local clothing manufacturers who are concerned over the proliferation of cheap clothing imports and its impact on market share should express their concerns to the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA).
Responding to a question from Stabroek Business regarding concerns raised by local manufacturers, Webster said that the PSC believed in “fair competition”—a condition that local manufacturers say does not apply in the instance of cheap Chinese imports.
Both the government and the local private sector umbrella organisation have been restrained in commenting on the concerns being expressed by local manufacturing and retail outlets regarding the rapid expansion of the Chinese clothing distribution trade in Guyana. Complaints about quality issues and other service-related concerns have reportedly been raised with the Chinese authorities by the GMSA. One local businessman who had a bad experience with a supplier told this newspaper that he now holds out little hope that the Chinese entity with which he did the transactions would compensate him.
While Webster did not name any specific country he told Stabroek Business that he was aware that there are instances where products from extra-regional and even regional sources were being dumped on the Caricom market. Local manufacturers, Webster said, must ensure that domestic products are better in quality than the competing imported product.
Meanwhile Webster told Stabroek Business that he believed that urban businessmen can do a lot more to help build a recycling culture and separate waste into recyclable components.
The PSC Chairman, who is also Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Containers Inc., said that the company will be seeking through the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to integrate its collection programme for corrugated boxes for its paper mill into a review of the garbage collection methodology. That review will include a proposal for the introduction of skips and skip loaders.
