-President Ali emphasises link to enhanced agro-processing and industrial capacity, long-term development
PRESIDENT Dr Irfaan Ali has warned overseas suppliers benefitting from Guyana’s expanding consumer market that they must begin manufacturing and investing locally, insisting that companies seeking to serve the Guyanese market should also contribute to its productive capacity.
While addressing the commissioning of two new aircraft for Jags Aviation and the company’s 12th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Dr Ali used the platform to caution foreign manufacturers that Guyana will no longer be content in playing the role of just a mere buyer.
“If we are not good enough for you to manufacture and produce your goods by investing in our economy, then we are not good enough to consume [your] goods too,” the President said.
He argued that Guyana now offers the most attractive, policy-based incentives in the region for agro-processing and manufacturing and said it was time for producers to relocate production to Guyana if they wished to continue expanding their footprint here.
“We have given you all incentives, all the incentives for manufacturing. There is nothing or no other economy in the region that offers more policy-based incentives for agro-processing than Guyana. It is time [for] manufacturers [to] bring that manufacturing here if they are going to continue to expand,” President Ali said, as he pushed for value-added production.
The President made it clear that his administration’s objective is not simply to expand imports, but to anchor a new wave of agro-processing and industrial capacity within Guyana’s borders.
Dr Ali also pressed domestic financial institutions and established companies to back the government’s policy efforts, pointing to recent efforts to build a stronger agro‑processing and manufacturing base. He said he had challenged local manufactures to help lead an organised consortium of agro-processors and manufacturers for food and snacks.
“We cannot go forward without value creation and manufacturing in this country, and that is where our energy must be, and that is why this investment is critical,” he stressed.
The President framed the shift as essential to Guyana’s long‑term development, arguing that the country cannot achieve its full potential if it remains locked into an export of raw materials and import of finished goods model.
He linked the demand for onshore manufacturing to his wider call for “value creation and manufacturing” in Guyana, stressing that every policy lever from energy to tax incentives is being aligned to support that goal.
Earlier this year the government moved to operationalise a raft of fiscal incentives and tax-relief measures after Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, successfully piloted the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Bill 2026 through the National Assembly, following the conclusion of consideration of estimates of expenditure of the 2026 National Budget.
Among the most consequential provisions was the removal of corporate taxes on agriculture and agro-processing businesses, a move the government had said will promote productive activity and diversification. The measure is expected to increase retained earnings and drive reinvestment to boost output and productivity in the agriculture value chain.
The Bill also expanded the export-allowance framework to include value-added timber products, a step aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of exporters by reducing their effective tax burden and allowing them to price goods more competitively on international markets.
Further support for domestic manufacturing also came on stream with the removal of VAT on locally made furniture, including doors, moulding, and beds, as well as on locally produced jewellery. These measures are intended to lower construction costs, strengthen the forestry and jewellery subsectors, and support local manufacturers.
