Operations at agro-packaging facilities continue – GMC

─ amid current global pandemic

DPI, Guyana, Friday, April 17, 2020

Despite the impact of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) operations at the two Agro-Packaging facilities in Guyana continue.

This is according to General Manager of the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), Ida Sealey-Adams.

“If a request is made to have one of our exporters to utilise any one of our facilities, whether it is Parika or the Central Packaging Facility in Sophia we will offer the service,” the General Manager told DPI in an extensive interview recently.

According to Sealey-Adams, GMC is preparing to facilitate a shipment next week to one of the regional markets.

In terms of refrigerating services, she said the agency continues to meet the need of their clients, once a request is made.

“We have our staff operating on a rotational basis because we have to visit to ensure that the refrigerator containers are operating at the temperature our clients would have requested,” she disclosed.

The Corporation is encouraging clients who seek services at the Market Information Centre to communicate via telephone or email.

“Many of them have the staff’s’ respective telephone numbers. They can utilise the staff email addresses or that of the Corporation which is info@newgmc.com,” Sealey-Adams reiterated.

“Services such the provision of nutritional information and the USDA, as well as registration, continue to be offered, once it is requested,” she added.

Like other food providing agencies, while the New GMC’s extension officers are working remotely, they continue to serve stakeholders in their assigned catchment area.

The GM highlighted that the closure of ports in Guyana has delayed exports to a number of countries.

“It’s important to note also that many of our stakeholders or buyers are persons from the diaspora. When they visit there is a certain commodity they would take. With flights not being in operation, what we found there was a significant reduction in the number of persons visiting the Guyana Shop.”

However, Sealey-Adams noted that the corporation is hoping to have exports sent via sea once they receive requests and the ports are reopened.