Billions of Guyana dollars are spent yearly to import household items, fruits, vegetable oils, poultry products and clothing but these imports are not helping local manufacturers who produce similar items.
These highlighted items were included in a Bureau of Statistics preliminary report on 234 consumer imports valued at over $53 billion from July to December 2003.
Somat Ali, Managing Director of Fibre Tech Industrial Plastics says his company has not seen an increase in the sales of its products as a result of the strong competition posed by imported products. Ali says he pays a significant amount in consumption tax (c-tax) while similar imported products pay very little C-Tax, distorting the playing field.
The C-Tax on locally manufactured goods is charged on the price of the finished product while the c-tax on imported items is based on the imported value.
Ali says there are cases where the c-tax paid by his firm is more than the entire value of the competing product imported but the retail price by his competitors is three to four times the declared value. Products imported as refurbished items or as redundant goods carry a lower value.
Ali says consumers need to demand a manufacturers warranty for the foreign-made doors, sinks and other competing products purchased as many customers often approach local firms to repair the purchased imported product.
The local garment industry is also affected as more persons forsake local tailors and dressmakers and prefer imported clothing sold by the boutiques and shopping malls/supermarkets; ready-to-wear clothing is becoming big business.
For the second half of last year (non-nitted) male and female clothing amounted to over $243M and male and female knitted clothing imports was estimated at $41M.
Imports of knitted, crocheted fabric, tulle, lace, and ribbon were valued at over $267M, which suggest that a number of persons may still prefer locally tailored garments. Items to complement the clothing such as clothing accessories were valued at over $21M, and travel goods, handbags etc., at over $57M.
Over $1.2 billion was spent to import perfumery and cosmetics as well as soaps and cleaning products.
With the closure of the few large-scale local footwear manufacturers, most of Guyana's footwear is imported. From July to December 2003 these imports were valued at over $568M.
Imports of artwork, collectors pieces, pottery items, watches and clocks, toys and games, baby carriage, furniture and parts were more than $535M.
Also of significance were the millions spent every year to import large amounts of fruit/vegetable goods (fresh or chilled) as Guyanese develop a healthy taste for selected imported fruits and vegetables.
The preliminary figures for the second-half of last year show imports of vegetables(fresh/chilled, frozen, dry) valued at $554M and preserved vegetables/roots at $128M.
Fruits and nuts(fresh/dry) imports were valued at over $44M, preserved fruit and fruit juices at over $205M while imports of cereal, flour and starch were $819M and cheese and curd were estimated at $286M.
However, officials from two major supermarkets say the fruits and vegetables they import have not seen an increase.
Officials from Fogarty's Supermarket note that their sales for imported non-traditional vegetables such as cauliflower, mushrooms and broccoli are "pretty stable." Moreover, this supermarket officials also note that they do not import traditionally grown vegetables.
Officials at Nigel's Supermarket which sells non-traditional fruits such as grapes, apples and a variety of foreign pears as well as cauliflower and broccoli said the same thing.
Foreign fruits are also sold in large quantities by vendors at local open-air markets.
Poultry imports of eggs/birds(fresh, dried, etc.) were estimated at $535M; fish(fresh, chilled, frozen) at $1M; fish; salted, dried, smoked at $2M; and sugar, molasses and honey at $247M.
Officials of Didco Trading Company which import significant quantities of poultry products were not available to comment on the volume of sale for their imported products. Didco trades in chicken, sausages, turkey, french fries, and smoked herring, among other items. The company also has a division which produces locally-grown eggs and chicken.
Preliminary figures on imports for the second half also show that over $176M in glassware were imported while articles of glass were valued at over $83M. Imports of floor coverings such as vinyl and others, were valued at over $85M. Most of the vinyl imports were from the Far East.
Michael Samaroo, the overseas purchasing officer at Gafsons Industries Limited, says there has been a substantial increase in the sale of glassware as these make wonderful gifts for weddings, parties, and anniversaries.
But vinyl, according to Samaroo, is more seasonal with the Christmas holiday bringing the most sales and the remainder being sold throughout the year.
Fizul Sattur, sales manager at the National Hardware (Guyana) Ltd, says that store stocks vinyl in large quantities for the Christmas season since the product is in great demand then.
Nevertheless, he says microwaves, blenders, toasters and television sets do enjoy healthy sales. Household equipment base metals were valued at over $216M for the second half of last year.
Sattur says that though the volume of imported items may seem large, the true volume of imports may be much larger because of smuggling.
Smuggling and cheaper labour in other states have also made it difficult for local manufacturers to compete with imported products.