The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) today expressed concern at the rate of deterioration of the Guyana dollar and has called on the Minister of Finance to hold consultations urgently to address the matter.
In a statement issued today, the GMSA said that the Board has estimated that the real exchange rate when available and being used for the purchase of foreign exchange is $230.00 for the replacement of imported inputs into the sectors.
“We are concerned that our ability to keep prices stable will be limited and guided by this new rate. The burden of the changes in the VAT regime will also cause production costs to move upwards”, the statement noted.
Following is the full statement:
The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) at its recently held Board meeting deliberated deeply on the woes of the manufacturing sector. The Board is disappointed at the rate of deterioration of the Guyana dollar and has estimated that the real exchange rate when available being used for the purchase of foreign exchange is $230.00 for the replacement of imported inputs into the sectors.
We are concerned that our ability to keep prices stable will be limited and guided by this new rate. The burden of the changes in the VAT regime will also cause production costs to move upwards. The GMSA is encouraging all of the sectors to implement cost cutting exercises and have noted that some entities have started to rationalise employment.
The rise in the price of the U.S. dollar will have far reaching effects on our country as a whole both socially and economically.
We call on the Minister of Finance to hold broad consultations on this matter, urgently.
We urge the Bank of Guyana and the Government of Guyana to take steps to stabilise the value of the Guyana Dollar immediately by injecting funds into the system as we believe that the rate is being driven by the simple Economic formula of supply and demand.
This situation has the potential to further increase unemployment and at worst wipe out Companies.
