Barbados delegation to form trade partnerships with Guyanese

− as bilateral talks between President Ali, PM Mottley bear fruit

Earlier this month, President Dr Irfaan Ali held bilateral discussions with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley. Now, a high-level delegation from Barbados is in Guyana to explore investment opportunities and agreements to purchase local construction materials.

The delegation paid a visit to Barama, where they inspected the value-added process of turning timber into lumber. Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar explained that the delegation’s visit is as a result of the bilateral discussions.
“This is following the agreements at a political level between Prime Minister Mia Mottley and President Dr Irfaan Ali. When we were in Barbados, there were a number of initiatives that we agreed on. One of them was in terms of the housing sector, that they would come to visit and see what we have done in the sector.”
“And what we said to the Bajans is that we have a lot of wood and a large standing forest, we have a lot of aggregates, a lot of sand. Sawn lumber. So, they came to see Barama today, to understand how the manufacturing process is and the need. Because they really import a lot of ply, from extra regional sources too.”
The Minister noted that Guyana has good quality plywood, when the weight and density of the ply is considered. He explained that it is also resistant to pests, and according to him, the Bajans are interested.
“So, we just have to make out the commercial side, between the company and them. Between Barama and the Barbados authority that procures it. Once they agree on the commercial side, the logistics is in place. Because this company sits right by the waterfront. The ships can load and they come and take it out.”
“All in all, I think they (Bajans) are very happy. Mr Mohindrachand, who is the Managing Director of Barama, is also excited. It will create additional output for his manufacturing facility. And once the output is increased, it will carry down costs,” Indar noted.
According to Indar, Barbados is ultimately interested in Guyana’s sawn timber, for their own housing initiative. And according to the Minister, Guyana has enough of this product to satisfy Barbados’ needs.
“They’re interested in the finished product. They saw the process. They understand its green. Its responsible logging too. So tomorrow we’ll go to some of the sawmillers that do sawed timber, in Parika and also in the Linden area, to look at the sawn lumber part of it. We have the lumber, the plywood, the aggregate, the sand. So, we can really make a bigger inroad into Barbados.”
The Minister also spoke of the trickle-down effect on the Guyanese economy, since Guyana buys from community loggers. Once demand for lumber increases at the level of Barama, it means more work and more money for ordinary loggers.
“If you need sand, it’s more production at the sand pits. If you need aggregates, it’s more production at the crusher. So once demand goes up, it’s more activity at the source. Then you have transportation too, the workers at the sand pits or the crusher or the loggers. That drives the activity.”
Meanwhile, Dr William Duguid, who is the Barbadian Minister of Transport, Works and Maintenance, expressed interest in the manufacturing process he observed and moreover attested that Barbados would explore investment opportunities in the sector and would be returning to scope out even more opportunities.
“The first thing I can see are opportunities to purchase the various thicknesses of ply. But also, I can see a benefit to be able to harness green hydrogen to be able to provide electricity, as well as to be able to install a photovoltaic system on the roof.”
“And by extension be able to reduce the price for the construction industry for the product. So there are a lot of opportunities at this company alone. And I’m seeing so many others along our tour.”
He noted that there is also opportunity for Guyana to benefit from knowledge exchange and technical cooperation, since Barbados has done much work when it comes to pairing solar energy with its housing activities. Additionally, there is technology used for making foundations for homes that can be shared.