Guyanese products to showcase at Vincy Expo Plus

Thirty business persons from Guyana will, later this month, showcase at Everything Vincy Expo Plus 2023, 100 different products not made in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

The Guyanese connection accounts for the “Plus” in the local expo, and according to Honorary Consul of Guyana to SVG Nigel Russell, apart from exploring the possibility of setting up Guyanese businesses here, they are also looking at introducing Vincentians to high quality products produced in Guyana with the aim of getting local businesses, for example hotels, to look towards the region for products they would normally source internationally.

Russell, speaking at the media launch of Everything Vincy Expo Plus 2023 at the La Vue Hotel in Villa recently, said Guyana is the breadbasket of the Caribbean and exports to every country in Latin America and Caribbean, while they also consume 50 per cent of what they produce.

“…And if we can do that here, think of what the economy would be,” Russell told persons at the media launch, while noting that several businesses in Guyana are looking at ways they can set up shop in SVG as the country has raw materials that can be put to use to produce high quality products like furniture and food.

He said he knows of a peanut butter brand being produced by an indigenous community in Guyana and would like to see that done here, while a bamboo furniture company and a mattress company are interested in setting up shop here.

“I hope it can be done because young men can learn the skill,” said the honorary consul, while adding that a lot of bamboo grows here untouched.

He said he knows of businesses in the region that source furniture from places like Bali and the United States (US) but the same thing is made in Guyana and can be shipped and bought for less. He said he is hoping that the marketing capabilities of the expo can help promote the products that will be displayed by the Guyanese contingent and as a result open new markets.

“I would like to see the new hotels take the opportunity when they see the quality they can get from Guyana…so much can happen,” Russell said, while adding that it is time for the networking of businesses to take place.

Russell noted also that the involvement of Guyana in the local expo was being planned in 2019 but the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and things were postponed until now. He said also that the Guyanese products that will be on display are a complement to the expo.

The Everything Vincy Expo Plus 2023 is being produced by Invest SVG and will take place this year from October 26 to 29, at the northern end of the E T Joshua Tarmac.

The Everything Vincy Expo-Plus will showcase SVG’s innovation, investment potential, and cultural richness.