By Louis Holder
Louis Holder is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Amy’s Pomeroon Foods Inc. This article derives from a recently initiated collaborative effort between the Stabroek Business and the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) to promote public discourse on the manufacturing sector by placing issues affecting the development of the sector in the public domain. The views of other stakeholders in the sector are welcome.
This is an update on the progress of Amy’s Pomeroon Foods Inc (APFI), manufacturer of Amy’s Pomeroon Coffee (APC), after almost a year of operations. During this period, the company has faced many challenges limiting its growth and which are likely germane to all small agro-processing firms operating in Guyana. Challenges faced range from the high cost of financing and electricity to cultural discrimination against locally made products, to exorbitant freight costs on exporting products to the North American market and obstructionism in Caricom markets.