By Antonio Dey
Operations and Sales Manager of Kestrel Guyana Inc Samantha Buchoon said that the United Kingdom’s three-day trade mission in Guyana presented opportunities for the freight and shipping company to network with new international and local trade partners like the British Chamber of Commerce Guyana.
Buchoon told Stabroek News at a recent reception at the British High Commissioner’s residence in honour of the UK Trade Delegation, that Kestrel Guyana Inc was able to garner ideas from many UK-based companies in relation to logistics and supply chain management.
The sales manager said the trade mission was very informative and productive. “We were able to meet new international trading partners which will actually open doors for our company, since we are known for freight forwarding, shipment, logistics, etc,” Buchoon said
“This is right up our alley because as you know you can have the product here and the business there which means that is solely dependent on logistics, so if you buy anything from any part of the world, we can pick it from the warehouse and ship it straight to your door.’’
Kestrel Guyana Inc is located at 140 Quamina and Waterloo streets, South Cummingsburg in Georgetown.
The company, which is known for its specialisation in cargo and freight services, has several regional and global established offices in countries including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Full container loads, less than container loads, full consolidation services, customs bonded warehouse in Miami, temperature-controlled cargo (ambient, chilled, frozen), breakbulk cargo, heavy lift cargo and air freight are among the services it offers. It also has employed personnel in sectors such as energy and renewables, oil and gas expertise and specialised services, purchase order management and project management.
Meanwhile, Marketing Associate of Continental Agencies Limited Ambika Bahadur said it was her second time participating at the trade mission. This year, her company was able to promote local and international products with brands such as Walker’s, a British company known for shortbreads and biscuits.
Bahadur said Guyanese also enjoy Mornflake breakfast cereal which is manufactured in Cheshire, United Kingdom.
“We are usually known for Walker’s shortbread which are distributed countrywide and available in all supermarkets; however, many Guyanese were able to sample our products,” she related. “It’s our second time participating at the trade mission and I am happy that we were able to display more of our products this year, which received positive reactions.”
She said that many of the international companies at the trade mission were impressed by local products such as Sujata Curry Powder and Continental Custard Powder.
The marketing associate told Stabroek News that over the years, Continental Agencies Limited has bolstered trading relations with its counterparts in the United Kingdom and further afield. Through networking, she said the company was able to acquire more international suppliers and retailers.
“We were able to bring in more stocks like British cheeses, tonic water among other new supplies to the local market, so basically I can say that this trade mission helped us to broaden our horizons as many companies favoured us,” she said.
However, the challenge is that not many Guyanese are au fait with these products, Bahadur said, adding that the company is working assiduously to address this through mechanisms of awareness and sensitization.
“We have been working with all of our customers, we know the high-end products which have their target markets, so we don’t really have them stocked in every shop but there are supermarkets who selectively take them, like Massy Stores, Survival, Bounty supermarkets, etcetera.
“Our target market is at a higher end of the budget, but at the same time we distribute any stock that you are interested in countrywide,” Bahadur concluded.
Continental Agencies Limited is located at 9-12 Industrial Estate, Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
Brand Ambassador and Team Leader at Massy Distribution Guyana Christina Jaundoo said that the trade mission was a major success for her company as many in the business community were impressed by several imported products from the United Kingdom.
“A lot of people said that they have enjoyed products like the honey mustard dressing, walnut oil which we are delighted with,” Jaundoo said.
The trade mission was a collaborative effort between the British High Commission, the Caribbean Council, the British Chamber of Commerce (BritCham)and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) with the aim being to increase growth in trade and investment between the United Kingdom and Guyana.
GCCI President Kester Hutson told Stabroek News at the reception that BritCham and GCCI will be pushing to host more trade missions here and there will be more international businesses to partner with local companies.
Hutson also said that GCCI will be working with the government to create more opportunities for micro businesses to have access to funds and loans. He stressed that small businesses should not be left behind as needs must be met in order to be competitive in local and regional markets.
Chairman of BritCham Guyana Faizal Khan said he would be working with GCCI and other local partners to bring more international investors here as he believes that Guyana has the best business climate in light of its economic projections thus far for 2023.
According to him trade missions are not about negotiations and plans, but about getting things done.
“While the trade mission offers the prospect of an incredible future in partnership between the two countries which have a deep shared great bilateral relation, we will continue to bring more international companies to the local market and ensure that they invest in Guyana,” he said.
Noting that BritCham was formed in 2022 and may still be new to the business climate, he said it will do its best to make sure that local companies are par-excellence in the local market once partnership is fostered with global companies in the United Kingdom. “This will be a win-win situation for both countries,” Khan said.
Meanwhile Lorcan O’Brien, one of the key strategists in the development of the UK-CARIFORUM Partnership Agreement said, “it is fantastic that we managed to secured the continuity of trades after the UK left the European Union and seeing Guyana’s incredible growth rate has presented great opportunities for British and Guyanese businesses and we have an incoming ministerial meeting in 3 weeks’ time and we will discuss more on breaking down trade barriers.”
O’Brien who is Head of West and Central Africa Trade Agreements at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London, England said the trade mission was a great success and Guyana and the United Kingdom will be great partners in several strategic projects that will promote sustainable development
The UK signed an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the CARIFORUM trade bloc, which is in effect. The CARIFORUM states covered by this EPA are: Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bahamas, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
The UK, in this agreement, committed to providing immediate duty-free, quota-free access to goods exported from the CARIFORUM states. In exchange, the CARIFORUM states committed to gradual tariff liberalisation of goods. Some domestically sensitive products in the CARIFORUM states are excluded from tariff liberalisation.
This EPA includes provisions on trade in goods including provisions on preferential tariffs and rules of origin, trade in services, intellectual property and government procurement.
