President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has disclosed that Guyana is unequivocally poised for significant economic expansion, notably in non-oil sectors.
The President revealed that in the first half of 2023, the country experienced a 59.5 per cent growth in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while the non-oil sector recorded a 12.3 per cent surge.
“This is as a direct result of policy the metrics by the government in the country, reigniting the traditional sectors and expanding our economic footing,” he emphasised at a press conference at State House, Georgetown on Saturday.
According to President Ali, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors have expanded by an estimated 7.6% in the first half of this year. These sectors, the president pointed out, were ‘completely destroyed’ under the previous coalition administration.
In comparison to the first half of 2022, the sugar industry has experienced a growth of 13.1 per cent.
The President said, “we are fully committed to the sugar industry, the revival of this industry and the integration of this industry in the local economies in the regions of our country.”
The rice industry has also experienced growth, estimated at 3.2 per cent when compared to the previous year.
President Ali attributed the increase to continued investment in drainage and irrigation, fiscal incentives, the utilisation of technology, research and development, as well as the opening up of new lands.
Other crops sector is estimated to have grown by 9.4 per cent in the first half of this year, while the livestock industry also grew by an 9.4 per cent.
“This is a clear demonstration as to how the model, the development model that we are using is producing that result,” he underscored.
The forestry sector recorded a 4.5 per cent growth, while the finishing industry expanded by 9.9 per cent, according to President Ali.
“When you understand the nature of the growth of the productive sector you will know that this growth is linked to critical competence of the economy, transportation and logistics, food, mechanical services, machining services, drivers.
“So that growth would translate into the development and advancement of other sectors and areas of our country,” he noted.
Meanwhile, in the first half of the year, the extractive sector (mining and quarry) exhibited an overall growth of 89.9 per cent, with strong progress noted in the petroleum subsector, which saw a growth of 98.4 per cent.
President Ali emphasised that the government will collaborate with miners in the gold and bauxite industry to expand production and address the root causes of the sluggish deceleration in the first quarter of this year.
The manufacturing sector is estimated to have grown by 17.7 per cent, construction by 44.1 per cent and the services industry by 9.1 per cent.
“The growth is at the household level and at the community level driven by a very strong, robust and accelerated housing program of the Government of Guyana,” the president stressed.
Furthermore, credit to the private sector grew by five per cent; credit to business enterprises in the services and manufacturing sectors grew by 3.3 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively. Real estate mortgages (mortgages for home construction) grew by 7.3 per cent.
