Broadening production
Guyana has long sought to diversify its economy. Economic diversification refers to broadening the production structure of the country. A country therefore expects to add to the economic activities that are taking place within the society. In that context, Guyana can think of itself as having a diversified economy given that it can identify its economic activities with all the sectors, namely agriculture, manufacturing, mining and services that are usually found in an economy. At one time, the economy was dominated by sugar and with the addition of rice, the dominance was by agriculture.
Now each of the four sectors contributes a reasonable amount to gross domestic product (GDP). The largest contribution comes from services which accounts for close to 63 per cent of output, suggesting that in the process the country has also realigned the economy.
Agriculture over the last nine years has contributed 20 per cent to GDP while mining has contributed 11 per cent. The laggard in the group is manufacturing. With all the sectors making positive contributions to the economy, it possibly raises the thought that economic diversification was not important. Guyana just needed to produce more and things would be fine. Add to that as many as eight major products are part of its export profile.