Sharp Decline In Exports From Guyana

• Exports from Guyana fells from 68.1% in 2021 to 16.8% last year, a new report from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) stated. According to the Bank, the value of goods exports from Latin America and the Caribbean increased at an estimated rate of 18.8% in 2022, which represented a sharp decline. The downward trend in the region’s external sales contracted during this period, after growing 27.8% in 2021, according to a report by the IDB.
• The region’s export performance was mainly explained by higher prices, while volumes lost momentum. In the coming months, the export growth rate is expected to slow in response to the downward trend in commodity prices, the war in Ukraine, restrictive monetary policies to reduce inflation and the slowdown in global growth.
• The latest edition of Trade Trends Estimates: Latin America and the Caribbean has found that “After a rapid recovery in 2021, a series of global shocks have sent exports from Latin America and the Caribbean into a slowdown that will continue into 2023. Reversing this trend will be key to shoring up economic growth in the region,” said Paolo Giordano, Principal Economist at the IDB’s Integration and Trade Sector.
• The region’s external sales were driven by shipments to the United States, which are estimated to have grown by 21.3% in 2022. Demand from the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean’s major trading partners slowed dramatically compared to 2021. Sales grew by 2% to China, 14% to the European Union, and 25.6% to Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Exports from the Caribbean rose by an estimated 38% in 2022 after growing by 44.4% in 2021. The United States accounted for most of the increase, followed by the European Union. Latin America and the Caribbean’s total imports increased at an estimated rate of 26.3% in 2022, after growing by 37.4% in 2021.

(Source: Kaieteur News)