Tourism Minister declares that locally exported products will now be branded ‘Made in Guyana’

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Oneidge Walrond, announced that all exported products will now carry the ‘Made in Guyana’ stamp of approval from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).

Walrond made this revelation during a certification ceremony to Fibre Tech Industrial Plastics at Agriculture Road, East Coast Demerara on Monday. The minister said that the manufacturing company is the first to obtain the right to carry the approval on their locally produced goods, following participation in the five-month certification programme through GNBS.

“It is my pleasure to recognise and commend you [Fibre Tech] for your pioneering achievement. I think by being the first to achieve this certification you have a certain interest of ensuring the success of this ‘Made in Guyana’ brand for which our ambition is that it earns a national, regional and global reputation for quality,” Walrond said. Minister Walrond noted that the development of the Made in Guyana certification was conceived to obtain certain objectives to develop Guyana’s local manufacturing capacity.

She stressed that the mark will guarantee that all items manufactured have 60 percent of local material input and have been produced by a company that has at least 70 percent Guyanese labour force. Walrond said that the mark will also assure consumers of the quality of the items being manufactured in Guyana.

“It is through this two-fold strategy of product certification and local content recognition that we see the ‘Made in Guyana’ certification mark eventually contributing to international competitiveness for authentic Guyanese products. The certification programme will also provide a frame work for the development of quality systems within our local companies pushing Guyanese businesses to the forefront of quality on a national, regional and international level,” Minister Wallrond explained.

She disclosed that the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) approached the GNBS to develop the mark. Meanwhile, she added that all manufacturing companies are encouraged to participate in the programme to achieve the mark of approval.