Porous Guyana-Suriname border places Region 6 businesses under mounting pressure

By Andrew Carmichael

The porous border between Guyana and Suriname is increasingly being cited as a major economic and security risk for Region Six (East Berbice–Corentyne), as business owners warn that unchecked backtrack crossings, smuggling, and uneven enforcement are undermining legitimate commerce and distorting the local marketplace.
Business activity in the region is facing growing risk, as traders and service providers point to an expanding “shadow economy” driven by backtrack routes, contraband supplies, and enforcement challenges; conditions they say distort prices, threaten legitimate investment, and heighten security concerns across the Corentyne Coast.

Official figures indicate that legal cross-border movement is surging. According to statistics presented at a Public Works Ministry, the Guyana-Suriname ferry service moved 114,389 passengers in 2024, up from 97,333 the previous year, while 19,721 vehicles crossed by ferry in 2024 compared with 15,973 in 2023.
Nevertheless, from Corriverton to the Central Corentyne, traders say the effects are no longer subtle. Smuggled goods, particularly alcohol and consumer items, are finding their way onto shop shelves at prices lawful businesses cannot match, while the steady flow of people and goods through informal routes continues to weaken tax compliance and investor confidence.
Business stakeholders argue that while cross-border movement is a historical and social reality of life on the Corentyne, the scale and organisation of illegal crossings have grown to the point where they now represent a structural threat to the region’s economy.

Backtrack routes rival legal crossings
At the centre of the concern is the extensive use of so-called “backtrack” routes: informal river crossings that bypass official ports of entry such as Moleson Creek and the Canawaima ferry terminal. Business leaders estimate that a significant share of cross-border movement now occurs outside formal channels, allowing goods to enter the country without customs checks, duties, or health inspections.
Those routes, often serviced by small boats operating along the Corentyne River and coastal areas, have become a parallel supply chain feeding markets in Region Six. Traders say the result is an uneven playing field, where compliant businesses must compete with products that carry none of the associated legal costs.
A Corentyne-based wholesaler told Guyana Times that the situation has reached a tipping point. “You pay duty, VAT, rent, electricity, and staff, and then you see the same items selling cheaper down the road. You can’t survive like that forever,” he said.

Smuggled alcohol flooding market
Alcohol remains one of the most visible examples of the problem. Enforcement agencies have repeatedly intercepted uncustomed alcoholic beverages entering Region Six, but traders say seizures barely scratch the surface.
Shop owners report that smuggled alcohol is now widely available in communities across East Berbice and is oftentimes transported to other parts of the country, including the capital city, Georgetown, which consumes a sizeable percentage; and in Berbice, the smuggled alcohol is often sold at prices well below those of legally imported brands. Beyond the obvious loss of revenue to the state, business owners warn that unregulated alcohol also poses public health risks, since its origin, storage conditions, and authenticity cannot always be verified.
Recent enforcement operations by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in Berbice have highlighted how organised and confrontational smuggling networks can be. In one high-profile incident last year, customs officers were attacked during an operation targeting uncustomed goods in the Corentyne area, a development that sent shockwaves through the business community.
“If officers can be challenged like that, imagine how exposed ordinary shop owners are,” a New Amsterdam retailer observed.

Unfair competition
Adding another layer of complexity is the rapid expansion of supermarkets along the Corentyne Coast, many of them Chinese-owned. While consumers have welcomed longer opening hours and wider product choices, small and medium-sized Guyanese businesses say the pace of expansion has intensified competition in an already fragile market.
On the Lower Corentyne, from Number One in the west to Williamsburg in the east – a stretch of nine villages – there have been 17 Chinese-operated businesses opened over the past three years, most of which are either supermarkets or hardware stores.
Nationally, concerns have been raised by business groups about whether all operators are being held to the same standards when it comes to taxation, licensing, labour practices and customs compliance. Those concerns resonate strongly in Region Six, where border leakage and retail concentration intersect.
The Private Sector Commission has acknowledged receiving complaints from local businesses, while Chinese diplomatic officials have publicly reminded Chinese enterprises in Guyana to comply with local laws amid growing scrutiny.
In Berbice, traders argue that the issue is not nationality but fairness. “Competition is fine. But it has to be fair competition. Right now, too many things are slipping through the cracks,” one shop owner declared.
The economic consequences extend beyond individual shops. Business leaders warn that persistent smuggling and uneven enforcement discourage formal investment, weaken confidence in regulatory systems, and encourage a cash-heavy informal economy that can attract criminal activity.

Vital trade hub
Region Six’s strategic position, bordering Suriname and serving as a major agricultural and trading corridor, makes it particularly vulnerable. Farmers, transport operators, and retailers all depend on predictable rules and secure supply chains. When those break down, the ripple effects are felt across the wider economy.
A recent regional security assessment also highlighted the difficulty of monitoring Guyana’s extensive land and river borders, noting that illegal activity often occurs far from official ports of entry. For communities along the Corentyne, that assessment simply confirms what residents have long observed.
Business stakeholders are not calling for an end to cross-border interaction. Many acknowledge that legal trade and travel with Suriname are vital to the region’s social and economic fabric.
What they are demanding is stronger, more consistent enforcement, increased patrols along known backtrack routes, faster prosecution of smuggling offences, improved coordination between agencies, and uniform application of the law across the retail sector.
They also want clearer policy direction on balancing foreign investment with the protection of local enterprise, especially in border regions where enforcement gaps carry higher economic consequences.
As one Corentyne businessman put it, “Region Six should not be punished because of where it is located. The border should be an opportunity, not a weakness.”
With economic activity expanding and cross-border movement continuing to rise, many in Berbice believe the time has come for a more robust and coordinated response. Without it, they warn, the region risks losing legitimate businesses to an underground economy that thrives on porous borders and uneven oversight.