Sep 22, 2026
2 min read
With El Niño conditions expected to drive up food costs, President Dr Irfaan Ali says the Government is pursuing agricultural measures to cushion the effects and strengthen Guyana's ability to withstand external supply shocks.
Among these is the planned rollout of farmers' markets across the country, intended to reduce price mark-ups between wholesalers and retailers.
"We are going to launch the farmers markets across the country to ease the price transfers between the wholesalers and retailers," Ali said.
He noted that focus is also being placed on increasing domestic production of commodities Guyana currently imports, including onions, potatoes, red beans and other food items, while efforts are underway to produce hatching eggs locally and expand poultry production.
"Production of more of what we consume…Keeping a productive system that allows us enough capacity to withstand short-term shocks," he said.
Greater production alone would not be sufficient, he stressed, pointing to the need for storage capacity to buffer against supply disruptions.
"It's not only investing in more production of chicken, but also in the storage facility. So that we can always have excess production, enough storage for excess production to create a buffer to maintain supply, but also to maintain price stability in the market," he said.
The measures come as Guyana faces higher production and transportation costs amid global economic and climate-related pressures. Compounding this, global wheat prices have risen to their highest level in three years, driven by disruptions to Black Sea exports, adverse weather and higher diesel and transportation costs.
While Guyana sources wheat mainly from the United States and Canada, the pressures could still raise import, freight and production costs locally, with sustained higher wheat costs eventually threatening flour-based products, including bread, pastries, biscuits and cakes.
Ali said the Government is seeking to make agriculture more diverse and resilient while increasing domestic supply, so that international market fluctuations have less impact on local consumers. He also pointed to subsidies for farmers and fisherfolk as part of the Government's response to rising input and fuel costs.
The President said the broader objective is to strengthen the demand-and-supply structure in favour of consumers, while maintaining greater stability in the local food market.
