• GDP: US$742million.
• Main imports: Manufactured goods, machinery, petroleum and food.
• Main exports: Sugar, gold, bauxite/aluminium, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum and timber.
• Main trade partners: Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Jamaica, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, UK and USA.

Agriculture allows Guyana to be self-sufficient in sugar, rice, vegetables, fruit, meat and poultry, as well as to make major export earnings from the first two. Although 80 per cent of the land area is covered by forest, timber has only very recently assumed any economic significance (subject to internationally backed restrictions on logging). Bauxite mining is the main industry, and responsible for one-third of export earnings. The mining sector also produces gold and diamonds, almost all of which are exported. Gold production has increased sharply since the opening of a new mining complex in 1992. Imported oil meets most of the country’s energy requirements, although Guyana and Surinam have begun joint exploration projects.
Guyana has been a beneficiary of a debt write-off which has saved more than £100 million annually in debt-servicing payments, following the Government’s implementation of a major economic reform programme. Since 1997, many formerly state-owned assets and industries have been sold, and deregulation measures introduced, as part of that programme. A major obstacle to Guyana’s future economic progress is a shortage of trained personnel, especially in the fields of management and technical expertise; the emigration rate remains high, and only serves to compound this long-term problem. Guyana is a founder member of the regional trading bloc CARICOM.

Appointments should be made and punctuality is appreciated. Calling cards are useful. The pace of business and general attitudes are very Caribbean-orientated. It is, however, wise to bear in mind that the country is very much part of South America, the ties with the Caribbean being more a hangover from British colonial days than a reflection of Guyanese popular consciousness. Office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and 1300-1630.

Guyana Manufacturer’s Association
National Exhibition Centre, Sophia, Georgetown, Guyana
Tel: 227 4295.
Website: www.gma.org.gy

Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry
PO Box 10110, 156 Waterloo Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown, Guyana
Tel: 225 5846.
Website: www.georgetownchamberofcommerce.org

Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce
229 South Road, Georgetown, Guyana
Tel: 226 2505.
Website: www.mintic.gov.gy