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Guyana: Guyana Economy Profile 2012

2012/03/13

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Guyana Economy Profile 2012

Guyana's economy is based primarily on agriculture and mining. Virtually all the farming is done on the coastal plain, especially the eastern part. The chief agricultural products are sugar and rice. Both are major exports. Individual farmers, many of them living at a subsistence level, grow rice, plantains, and other tropical plants.

Guyana is a major producer of bauxite (an aluminum ore). It is one of the country's most important exports. Gold and diamonds are also mined. Lumbering has enormous potential, but is hampered by the lack of inland transportation.

The Guyanese economy showed reasonable economic growth in last years and is based mainly on agriculture and extractive industries. The economy is deeply dependent upon the export of 6 commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice - which correspond to nearly 60% of the country's GDP and are extremely susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in commodity prices. Guyana's entrance into the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006 has broadened the country's export market, primarily in the raw materials sector. Economic recovery since a 2005 flood-related contraction was buoyed by increases in remittances and foreign direct investment in the sugar and rice industries as well as the mining sector.

Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment.

in March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana's principal donor, canceled Guyana's nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to nearly 48% of GDP, which along with other Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt forgiveness brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 183% in 2006 to 120% in 2007. Guyana became deeply indebted as a consequence of the inward-looking, state-led expansion model pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. Growth slowed in 2009-10 as a result of the world recession.

The slowdown in the domestic economy and lower import costs helped to narrow the country's current account deficit, despite generally lower earnings from exports.