Guyana’s manufacturing sector comprises mostly micro and small scale enterprises all of which require “interventions” designed to build capacity “in order to meet the stringent standards and certifications required for international markets,” newly elected President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) Mahendra Chand has said.
Addressing the September 28 Business Forum at the International Conference Centre. Liliendaal, organized as part of GuyExpo 2012, Chand said that setting aside “the long-established beverage manufacturers, telephone and water service providers the SMEs in all of the sectors could benefit from interventions for capacity building. These businesses need both institutional strengthening as well as a general injection of international expertise and funding,” Chand added.
The remarks by the GMSA executive come amidst growing concern that the local manufacturing sector will be hard-pressed to meet the requirements for exporting foods to the United States set out in Washington’s newly promulgated Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Guyana is one of a number of countries that will need to significantly upgrade its food production practices under the FSMA, the most sweeping reform of our food safety laws in more than 70 years, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2012. While Chand’s presentation included no reference to the work being done by the GMSA to help local manufacturers meet the required FSMA standards, local manufacturers have told Stabroek Business that the huge financial costs associated with infusing additional safety and health practices into their operations could pose a huge challenge to local companies wishing to begin to export processed foods to the US or to continue export operations that are already in place.
The remarks by Chand, coupled with the challenge which the FSMA poses comes at a time when, according to the GMSA President, the ‘Made In Guyana’ label has secured a foothold in Caribbean, United States, European, and Asian markets. “Even at home, locally, our products are now more widely accepted since the revolution began just a few years ago to bring product quality up to international standard,” Chand said.
And according to Chand, the “revolution” in the manufacturing sector also involves “a more aggressive approach to foreign direct investment, joint ventures and other forms of foreign integration.”
Meanwhile, the GMSA President told the GuyExpo forum that there was a need to market Guyana like a product, “selling our particular advantages like the fact that our geographic location and infrastructure offer very convenient access to South America… We have unfettered access in terms of trade routes to the islands of the Caribbean, to North America, Europe and further east to Asia and the Pacific islands,” Chand said.
Meanwhile, the GMSA President has pointed to what he says is evidence of greater inventiveness of local manufacturers particularly in the agro-processing sector. “They have taken to juicing locally-grown fruits and vegetables including pumpkin, ginger and Noni and some have secured export markets for their products,” Chand said. And according to the GMSA official most of them are now ready to expand their product lines and introduce more modern equipment in order to increase their market share.”
