That dollar amount reflects a 181.4% increase compared to $3.84 billion 5 years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the total value of Guyanese exports accelerated by 37.4% from $7.87 billion during 2022.
Best Guyanese Exports Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 90.4% of products exported from Guyana was bought by importers in: Trinidad and Tobago (17.6% of the Guyanese total), United States of America (16.5%), Singapore (15.2%), Netherlands (9.3%), United Kingdom (7.7%), Panama (4.8%), Spain (4.6%), United Arab Emirates (4.5%), Italy (3%), India (2.9%), Greece (2.8%) and Suriname (1.5%).
From a continental perspective, 30.1% of Guyana’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 29.2% was sold to importers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. Guyana shipped another 23.2% worth of goods to Asia.
Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (17.4%), Africa (0.1%), then Oceania (0.02%) led by New Zealand and Australia.
Given Guyana’s population of 794,000 people, its total $10.8 billion in 2023 exports translates to about $13,600 for every resident in the Latin American country. That per-capita dollar amount eclipses the average $9,900 one year earlier in 2022.
Guyana’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Guyanese global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Guyana.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$7.3 billion (67.7% of total exports)
- Railways, streetcars: $1.3 billion (11.6%)
- Gems, precious metals: $589.6 million (5.5%)
- Ships, boats: $427.7 million (4%)
- Machinery including computers: $407.1 million (3.8%)
- Cereals: $240.7 million (2.2%)
- Other chemical goods: $136.6 million (1.3%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $82.9 million (0.8%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $62.3 million (0.6%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $60.4 million (0.6%)
Guyana’s top 10 exports accounted for 97.9% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Aircraft and spacecraft was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 102,087% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was other chemical goods via a 6,179% advance.
Guyana’s shipments of machinery including computers posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 1,033%.
The leading decliner among Guyana’s top 10 export categories was railways and streetcars, recording a -46.4% year-over-year slowdown.
The above listed product groups are at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to the more detailed 4-digit HTS codes, Guyana’s 10 biggest exports by value are crude oil (66.3% of the Guyanese total), specially designed containers (11.6%), unwrought gold (5.4%), rice (2.2%), machinery parts (also 2.2%), cruise or cargo ships and barges (2.1%), light vessels, fire boats and floating decks (1.8%), coal tar oils (1.3%), gaskets and other metal sheeting joints (1%), then chemical industry residuals (0.8%).
That cohort of 10 leading exports from Guyana accounted for 94.9% of money received for Guyana’s overall exports in 2023. Such a high percentage indicates a highly concentrated portfolio of exported products.
Products Generating Greatest Trade Surpluses for Guyana
In 2023 Guyana garnered a US$5.6 billion surplus, reversing a -$690.9 million deficit in 2022.
The following types of Guyanese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$6.3 billion (Up by 97.9% since 2022)
- Railways, streetcars: $1.2 billion (Down by -47.1%)
- Gems, precious metals: $589.3 million (Up by 49.8%)
- Cereals: $193.1 million (Up by 21.1%)
- Ships, boats: $106.8 million (Reversing a -$5 billion deficit)
- Other chemical goods: $83.6 million (Down by -292.9%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $75.7 million (Down by -25.4%)
- Fish: $53.5 million (Down by -41.6%)
- Wood: $14.1 million (Down by -65.9%)
- Arms, ammunition: $1.6 million (Reversing a -$4.4 million deficit)
Guyana generated highly positive net exports in the international trade of crude oil. In turn, these cashflows indicate Guyana’s strong competitive advantage under the mineral fuels-related category.
Products Causing Biggest Trade Deficits for Guyana
Below are exports from Guyana that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Guyana’s goods trail Guyanese importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$504.5 million (Up by 14.7% since 2022)
- Vehicles: -$437.6 million (Up by 88.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$304.6 million (Up by 92.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$255.1 million (Up by 76.6%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$142.5 million (Up by 396.3%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$120.2 million (Up by 18.5%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: -$119.2 million (Up by 111.1%)
- Iron, steel: -$102.9 million (Down by -9.1%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$93.3 million (Up by 109.3%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: -$68.6 million (Up by 24.2%)
Guyana has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the product category machinery including computers.
Guyana’s Export Companies
Not one Guyanese corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000 for 2023.
Wikipedia lists some exports-related companies from Guyana. Selected examples are shown below.
- Banks DIH (food products)
- National Milling Co. of Guyana (food products)
- Trans Guyana Airways (airliner)
Global trade portal Alibaba also lists exports-oriented companies headquartered in Guyana.
- C&C Trading Guyana Co. (lumber)
- Cummings Wood Products Ltd. (wood decking, flooring)
- Guyana Farm Fresh (chili peppers)
- Rice Guyana Inc. (rice, bran)
- Trade One Guyana (fish)
In macroeconomic terms, Guyana’s total exported goods represent 23.2% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($46.5 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 23.2% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 23.3% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Guyana’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Guyana’s unemployment rate averaged 12.43% for 2023, up slightly from an average 12.423% jobless rate one year earlier in 2022 according to Trading Economics metrics.
Guyana’s capital city is Georgetown.
See also Venezuela’s Top 10 Exports, Brazil’s Top 10 Exports and Top South American Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook South America: Guyana. Accessed on October 13, 2024
Forbes 2023 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 13, 2024
Foreign Trade , United States Census Bureau. Accessed on October 13, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on October 13, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 13, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 13, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 13, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 13, 2024
Wikipedia, Guyana. Accessed on October 13, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Guyana. Accessed on October 13, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 13, 2024