–President Ali addresses disruptions to global supply chains amid Middle East conflict
–assures Guyanese gov’t will make necessary policy shifts to protect its people, region
The government of Guyana is prepared to make the necessary policy shifts and adjustments to ensure that its economy and people remain guarded from external shocks that are now threatening global supply chains.
Addressing concerns of widespread volatility and supply chain shocks amid the Middle Eastern Conflict, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, during a Wednesday noon airing of the programme ‘Tea on Terrace’, explained that the Caribbean and Latin American region is highly vulnerable to the dependence on imported fuel, affecting sectors like power, agriculture, tourism, and shipping.
The burden of the surge in prices has trickled down to consumers globally, with significant variation by region.
Dr. Ali pointed out that global trends have seen 21 per cent of oil prices being disrupted. This is equivalent to 15 million barrels of crude per day, and $6 million barrels of petroleum products per day. Fertiliser prices have surged by nearly 4-6 per cent month-on-month between February and March 2026, with higher prices expected to play out in the months ahead.
Food price inflation is projected to increase rapidly on the global level, with 50 per cent of low-income countries reporting increases in inflation between the last quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
“The implications of the ongoing war in Iran are far-reaching. The consequence of this war is not only the immediate impact, but the long-term impact of rebuilding the disruptions in global supply chains, the destruction of important and critical global infrastructure that will enable price stability,” President Ali said.
The war, he noted, has created a global energy crisis with the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Despite this, Guyana remains one of the few countries to have completely removed excise tax on fuel imports and refined products.
“We have to understand this, we are operating in the period of global history when the largest supply disruption is taking place. You have to understand that transport costs have increased, which means that all goods and services costs will be impacted. You have to understand that insurance costs for maritime traffic have increased, pilotage fees have increased, and risk allowance for persons working on a ship has increased. All of this is outside of the price increases itself.”
