Local agro processors and other small and medium-sized businesses in the creative sectors are awaiting word on government’s response to the request for the state to help finance the participation of a local contingent in the Florida International Trade & Cultural Expo and Conference (FITCE) in October. Communication was dispatched last week to Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond by Guyanese-American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) President Wesley Kirton seeking audience with her to discuss whether the Government of Guyana would be prepared to help small entrepreneurs to participate in this event. Some of the local hopefuls continue to keep their fingers crossed that it would bear fruit.
Kirton told Stabroek Business during a conversation late last week that 20 free display booths have already been set aside for product displays by Guyanese participants. However, the organisers hope government may agree to the waiving of taxes on airline tickets for those travelling to the United States for the event.
For much of the past week, Stabroek Business has been receiving enquiries from local agro-processors, following the newspaper’s disclosure of details of the event; including the fact that 20 free booths had been allocated for Guyanese wishing to participate. Questions included possible government subsidies for persons wishing to participate in the event and the logistics associated with moving products to the United States.
In the past, the US’ mostly health-related strictures have placed some limits on the sale of some products originating in Guyana. However, some potential attendees who spoke with this newspaper said that the considerable incentive associated with securing partnerships with importers in the USA would ensure compliance with the various health-related and other regulations.
Stabroek Business, meanwhile, has agreed to work with the organisers of FITCE 2022 to provide coverage of a planned event during mid-September designed to prepare would-be participants to take full advantage of the opportunities that will be available this year.
The level of recent participation in local product-promotion events suggests that agro-processors have, for the most part, survived the constraints on business growth arising out of the strictures placed on marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some of those who spoke with Stabroek Business said their interest in participating in the FITCE centred around the hope that the event might offer a gateway to their recovery.
Some would-be participants in the event said that a less than positive response from government to their request for assistance to attend the Florida event could mean that Guyana may be a no show. FITCE 2022 holds prospects for both the business opportunities of the local participants as well as a possible opportunity for the growth of the country’s agro-processing and creative sectors.
