– Business minister hails sector’s export potential

IT has been well established that the agriculture sector has the potential to feed Guyanese, but Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin feels much more can be achieved, especially in the area of agro-processing.

That agro-processing sector has the potential to become a viable export industry was never more evident than at the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA)’s trade fair, “Uncapped Marketplace 2018”, at the National Stadium on Sunday.
“We already export rice and sugar, but we want to expand the range to more processed foods, so the growing industry needs encouragement,” Minister Gaskin said during a live interview with the National Communications Network (NCN).

Although many businesses have been pushing the development of the agro-processing industry, the minister said the government will continue to support them by raising awareness about food standards, and making the regulations a little less complicated.
He said the government will also conduct awareness campaigns, so that everyone would know who is producing what, and the standards and certifications required for that type of production.
“Agriculture is big business here and around the world,” the minister said, adding: “Young people tend to be more in-tuned with what is happening,and they understand the importance of packaging and branding in the sector.”

Noting that branding and packaging is an important aspect of any business, the minister said, if it is not done properly customers will not be attracted to the products.
He believes that local businesses need to improve the quality of packaging in order to be competitive and attractive.

Vice President of the GMSA, Ramsay Ali echoed similar sentiments, saying that businesses need help to improve the quality of their products.

Given that “Uncapped” is an event for mostly small and medium-size producers, he said the GMSA would use the event to offer technical support for them to sell their products.
In addition, the venue itself was also a marketplace for businesses to market their products by getting Guyanese to see, sample and buy what they have.

“Most of the small businesses are not selling their products across the country,” Ali said, “and we feel if we can help to create more value for their products, we can get more products into the Guyanese stores and then start talking about export.”

With the GMSA’s help, some of the businesses have already started discussions about exporting, and are eager to start the process.