ECLAC reports in latest publication

GUYANA has once again emerged as a leader in the Region after recording a 66.1 per cent growth in export value, the highest among its counterparts in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in its 2023 International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean report.

Simply put, Guyana experienced the highest increase, among its counterparts, in the total monetary value of the goods and services it sold to other countries during the period under review.

This is a sign of improving economic conditions since it implies that the value of Guyana’s exports has grown, which is good news for the national economy.

According to ECLAC, Jamaica and The Bahamas were the countries that followed Guyana, with rates of 32.6 per cent and 19.3 per cent, respectively.

“Growth was propelled by a rise in oil exports, which is the main export product from the three nations, particularly from Guyana,” the report highlighted.

The document also pointed out that Guyana is in the midst of an export boom as a result of offshore oil extraction by ExxonMobil, and that in the first half of 2023, the volume of oil exported by Guyana surged by 63 per cent, reaching 215,000 barrels per day.

“It is projected that most countries whose exports grew in the first half of 2023 (The Bahamas, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua and Paraguay) will continue to record growth during the second half of the year,” the report read.

Notably, the strong performance from the oil and gas sector, and massive increases in non-oil exports during the first half of 2023, pushed Guyana’s export earnings to over US$6 billion, higher than the sum recorded during the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Finance’s mid-year report.

According to the report, total export earnings continued the upward trend, growing by 38.8 per cent to US$6.039 billion at the end of June, 2023.

The report found that the contributor to this surge has been the increase in export volumes, particularly in crude oil, which raked in a substantial US$5.374 billion in the first half of the year.

This marked a remarkable increase of US$1.761 billion compared to the same period last year. However, the growth in crude-oil earnings could have been even higher if not for a moderation in global oil prices.

Guyana’s third FPSO, Prosperity, arrived at the offshore Stabroek Block in April and joins the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity.

It is expected to operate on the Payara project and has been designed to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day, and has an overall storage volume of two million barrels. Daily oil production is expected to increase to almost 600,000 barrels a day in 2024, with production from the Prosperity vessel boosting Guyana’s annual revenue.

It was reported that returns from the sector are expected to catapult Guyana to the ranks of wealthiest countries in the Western Hemisphere, thereby increasing the government’s fiscal space to invest in initiatives geared at expanding the economy and improving the overall welfare of citizens.

In order to solidify the foundation of Guyana’s economy and enhance the overall well-being and welfare of every Guyanese, the government is crafting a framework for development that will be sustained through prudent and effective investment of oil funds into education, health, infrastructure and the non-oil sectors.