GUYANESE at home are seeing a lower volume of remittances and a reduced shipment of barrels and boxes with goodies from relatives abroad this Christmas.

This is, reportedly, as a result of high employment in the United States (U.S.) and drastic employment reforms that have forced most Guyanese immigrants out of a steady income.
In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, an executive member of the Atlanta Association of Guyanese, Ms. Anna McLean claimed the less remittances and shipping of barrels back home were an already expected phenomenon this year which has not only affected Guyanese immigrants but nationals from almost every other Caribbean country.
“While I can only ethically speak for the Guyanese diaspora, I have been well informed by other sister associations representing Caribbean nationalities that Christmas time remittances and shipping to their respective countries by their membership has significantly dwindled, by as much as 50 percent in some cases,” she said.
McLean suggested that, collectively, for the Caribbean diaspora, there is an average 30 percent decline in Christmas time remittances and shipped barrels to relatives this holiday.
Recently, several local shippers and, notably the Laparkan Group, have expressed concern over a sharp reduction of barrels received for shipping to Guyana.
Some other smaller U.S. based Guyanese shipping brokers in the New York Tri-State area and Florida have closed shop this year because they received too small requests from Guyanese residing there.