Georgetown, Guyana (file photo).
About 30 British business representatives are expected in Georgetown later this month for a trade mission covering sectors including construction, engineering, healthcare and shipping. It follows a year of rising trade: Guyana and the United Kingdom exchanged £2.5 billion in goods and services in the 12 months to June. By value, crude oil accounted for nearly all the goods the UK bought from Guyana, even as the delegation looks for business across a wider range of industries.
The Caribbean Council has scheduled the mission for 23–27 November and plans meetings with Guyanese companies. At a 13 November briefing in Georgetown, Deputy British High Commissioner Liam McShane pointed to transport, aviation and urban infrastructure as areas for collaboration. Guyana’s Chief Investment Officer, Dr Peter Ramsaroop, encouraged local firms to use partnerships to reach markets abroad as well as to bring investment here. The British Chamber of Commerce Guyana is holding its gala on 25 November. The briefing did not announce any signed deals.
Where the trade grew
The UK government’s 6 November trade factsheet puts two-way trade in goods and services at £2.5 billion for the 12 months through June 2026, up 50.2 per cent, or £820 million, in current prices. Roughly two-thirds of the increase came from the UK buying more from Guyana. The figures measure what the two countries bought and sold, not what British firms invested in Guyana.
Crude made up 98.2 per cent of the value of goods the UK imported from Guyana. Sugar, the next-largest goods category, accounted for £7.5 million. In the other direction, metal manufactures, ships and specialised machinery were among the UK’s largest goods exports to Guyana. For a local engineering or logistics firm, the visit is a chance to ask whether British suppliers bringing equipment into Guyana also need local installation, maintenance or distribution. For a Guyanese food producer looking in the other direction, a meeting with a distributor could help establish what volume, specifications and delivery schedule a British buyer would actually require.
What UK-backed finance can cover
Ramsaroop also pointed firms to UK Export Finance (UKEF). The agency’s country policy lists a £3 billion to £4 billion range for the risk it is willing to take on in Guyana, subject to sustainable lending criteria. That is neither a pot of cash for the delegation to distribute nor a list of approved projects. Under its Standard Buyer Loan Guarantee, for example, the agency can guarantee a loan from an eligible lender to an overseas buyer purchasing equipment or services from a UK supplier. Whether support is available depends on the transaction and the lender.
For a Guyanese buyer pricing a piece of UK equipment, the useful comparison is the cost of getting it installed and keeping it running here, not just the price on the quote. Any financing offer has to be weighed alongside freight, repayment terms and who will supply parts and service in Guyana. Those are terms a company can assess once there is a specific supplier and proposal on the table.
