GUYANA’S ability to expand its non-oil economy despite global challenges shows the country prowess, the Ministry of Finance has posited, while reflecting on a December 2022 report from the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB).

According to the IDB’s quarterly publication: “Caribbean Economics: The Headwinds-Facing the Post-Pandemic Recovery,” Guyana continues to be a ‘booming economy,’ with oil production driving growth in exports, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and government revenues and expenditures in the medium term.

Importantly, it noted that the non-oil economy is projected to have a “better-than-expected turnout of 9.6 per cent for 2022, compared to 7.7 per cent projected in the country’s 2022 budget.”
The growth in the non-oil economy, the Ministry of Finance said in a press release issued on Sunday, demonstrates Guyana’s economic prowess that has been derived from sound governmental stewardship.

“Recognizing the importance of a strong, diversified economic base, the President Ali-led government in the earliest days of oil production, placed the highest level of importance on a strong non-oil economy,” the release stated.

It added, “This is evident with Guyana’s non-oil growth in 2022 projected at over nine per cent, building on the 4.6 per cent recorded in 2021 and over the medium term is forecasted above global levels.”
The Ministry of Finance’s release reminded the public that Guyana holds portfolio responsibility for Agriculture and Food Security in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Through Guyana’s efforts, the bloc has adopted Guyana’s plan to reduce CARICOM’s food imports by 25 percent by 2025. Developments in this sector alone, the ministry reasoned, illustrate Guyana’s keen focus on divarication and expanding its non-oil economy.

These efforts, the Finance Ministry said, were acknowledged in the IDB report.

The report noted that Guyana is among the countries in the region that organised investment forums to promote technological improvements in agriculture and attract foreign direct investment. The report also pointed out that Guyana “rapidly moved from being a net importer of agricultural products and mineral fuels, representing eight percent of GDP in 2018 and 2019, to being a net exporter of the same commodities, with a trade surplus of 16 percent of GDP in 2020 and 31 percent in 2021 with the rest of the world.

Generally, this recent publication examined Caribbean economies and how they have been performing during the post-pandemic period. It also assessed what was done by regional governments to cushion the impact of global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting supply-chain disruptions.

In Guyana’s case, the IDB publication related that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased, in October, its estimates for oil production and GDP growth as a result of incorporating oil production from an additional Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel that led to higher levels of production.

It was noted that the country’s GDP growth was “expected to significantly expand in 2022” and “includes stronger recoveries in some non-oil sectors.” The publication backed this by highlighting that the non-oil economy is also expected to have a better-than-expected turnout of 9.6 per cent for 2022, compared to 7.7 per cent projected in the country’s 2022 Budget.

It also indicated that the main drivers of growth in the non-oil economy include agriculture, services, and construction.

Simultaneously, it acknowledged that Guyana’s main export flows and Guyana’s volume of exported goods was projected to rise by an annual average of 50 percent over 2022 to2026 in contrast to the IMF’s April estimate of 22.5 per cent, because of higher global energy prices.