President Irfaan Ali has noted “notable improvements” in the performance of the Forestry and Bauxite Industries in the past few years.

In a statement on Sunday, he said under the previous government, both sectors appeared on the verge of collapse, accusing the APNU+AFC administration of poor management.

He said it was under the APNU+AFC Administration that two of the largest investors – Bai Shan Lin and Barama – were forced to pull out of the Forestry Sector due to unfavorable conditions including hefty fees. 

“That market dried up, and the cost of production increased rapidly. And why did the cost of production increase rapidly? All the incentives were removed. The incentives were removed from forestry and there was no infrastructure to support the small miners. So, the total production [which] reached a peak of 500,000 cubic meters in 2015, fell to under 400,000 cubic meters by 2020. Exports of the forestry sector declined by 35%,” the President explained. 

He said the closure of Barama’s logging operations resulted in a significant decline, not only in production and revenue but also a decline in jobs by some 15,000.

Due to the dwindling cashflow, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) was unable to pay its staff and meet other financial commitments such as the payment of utility bills, the President claimed.

He said the Forestry Sector is doing much better today, explaining that between 2021 and 2024, over 150 small concessions and five large concessions while offering a range of tax concessions.

“The VAT on machinery and equipment was removed, the tax concessions on ATVs were provided. We provided tax concessions on ATVs. The VAT on exports were reversed. They had the VAT on machinery and equipment, they had the VAT on ATVs for small and medium size [foresters], they had the VAT on exports and they had VAT on hinterland travels. Can you imagine that?” the President lamented. 

The Government has also amended the Log Export Policy to allow saw millers to export logs, and is process of establishing a Timber Legality Assurance System which is necessary under the European Union Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Programme to secure a license. 

President Ali said based on the policies and programmes implemented, the Forestry Industry has seen an accumulative increase in production by more than $15.6B since 2020. Employment within the sector has increased to 25,000.

He said the Bauxite Industry was also hard hit.

“Between 2014 and 2020, total production contracted by 40%. Yes, my friends, production went down by 40%. More than 50% of the persons who were employed where? In Region 10, primarily from Linden, more than 50% of those employed lost their jobs between 2015 and 2020,” the President said.

The bauxite industry has been on decline for several years with the biggest set of job losses taking place under the previous PPP government.  

The President sad investments by Bosai will see production increase by over 250,000 tons this year and 400,000 ton next year. 

Related posts:

Guyana recorded 33% economic growth in 2023, fueled by oil and construction sectors Gold and Bauxite production fall as Oil sector fuels local economy -Bank of Guyana report Poor performance recorded in non-oil sectors; Overall Economy still grew by 43.5% BUDGET 2018: Mixed performances recorded in major sectors as projected growth rate weakens