Following its trade mission to Guyana last October, the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) will again visit the South American country from January 23—28 to explore export and investment opportunities.

According to a media brief shared with the Jamaica Observer, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill will lead this second mission with a view to “capitalise on the successes of the October mission”.

“The mission will be in alignment with the GOJ’s [Government of Jamaica] and the ministry’s objectives to grow export sales, facilitate deeper market penetration and sustainable export growth of services,” the document from the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro) outlined.

As with the previous mission, the upcoming one will include representatives of Jampro, Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation and 45 private sector entities. Already, 59 individuals from private sector will participate in the mission.

“Four of the companies that participated in the first mission in October 2022 will also be participating in this mission,” Jampro said.

The objectives of this mission include making contact with key players in the Guyanese market in a bid to secure contracts for construction companies and service providers; generate new export leads for goods producers; and boost awareness of Jamaican products, services and labour force in Guyana.

In addition, the mission seeks to follow up on discussions to advance commercial activities in train and secure market intelligence and insight on the Guyana. The ministry will also look to strengthen partnerships between the governments of Jamaica and Guyana on key issues such as training accreditation and export promotions.

“Guyana Office for Investment [GO-Invest], the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Guyana Manufacturers’ & Services Association have partnered with [MIIC] and Jampro to schedule business to business [B2B] and business to government [B2G] meetings with members of the delegation,” Jampro said.

“Based on planned delegation meetings as well as B2G and B2B meetings being scheduled, it is expected that over 100 meetings will be facilitated during the week-long mission,” the agency continued.

While in Guyana, the delegation will explore opportunities across multiple sectors including construction, banking and finance, technology, and research and data, agriculture, and manufacturing.

Since 2020, Guyana and Jamaica has had a trading relationships which has favoured the former. Guyanese imports was at its highest in 2011 and totalled US$51.26 million. At its peak in 2020, Jamaica’s exports to the then new oil-producing nation was US$19.4 million.

As a result of oil, Guyana’s economy was projected to grow by over 100 per cent with accretion of 30 per cent on average per year from 2023 to 2026.

“Guyana continues to be an important market for Jamaican goods, particularly animal feed, alcoholic beverages and food items such as flour,” Jampro concluded.