– over 7, 000 tonnes exported annually

The local coconut industry is booming, with The Dominican Republic listed as the largest purchaser over the past several years, according to export data from the Guyana Marketing Corporation.For the period January to September 2015,The Dominican Republic led with coconut purchases followed by Trinidad, Suriname, Canada, USA and Barbados.
The coconut industry in Guyana has been identified as one of the sectors with a large potential for further development, as over 7,000 tonnes are shipped annually.
In Guyana, the coconut already exists as one of the key non-traditional crops, since it can be used in fuel, food, and feed, while it delivers a wide variety of other products such as coconut oil, coconut water, coconut kernel and coconut milk which are in demand internationally and regionally.
Coconuts have been dominating agricultural exports annually; this has earned hundreds of millions of dollars, as the sector produces over 92 million nuts annually.
Coconuts are grown widely in the coastal regions of Guyana, primarily along the Pomeroon River, the Essequibo Coast, East Demerara, West Berbice and on the Corentyne Coast.
The estimated area under production is 24,000 hectares.
In Guyana, coconut (Cocos nucifera) ranks third after rice and sugar in terms of acreage cultivated.
Agriculture officials disclosed that some of the constraints hampering development of the industry are lack of fertilisation, limited local manufacturing and processing facilities, poor drainage, high and rising costs of production, marketing, and inadequate crop management and farming.
Farmers in the country’s coconut industry are currently benefiting from significantly increased prices, resulting from the availability of more lucrative markets in some Caribbean territories.
Officials recommend the following three areas of intervention to aid the development of the coconut industry in Guyana: increasing the productivity and production potential of Guyana’s existing coconut sector; assessing the state of Guyana’s coconut oil industry and its future and considering possible support mechanisms, if deemed necessary; and exploring other coconut-derived products in terms of their value- added potential and export potential.
In Guyana, the major oil extraction mills are the Pomeroon Oil Mill, National Edible Oils and Fats Incorporated and the Maharaj Oil mill.