BUDGET 2023: Guyana’s economic growth pegged at 25.1% with 136 lifts of profit oil expected this year
Largely supported by the oil and gas sector, Guyana’s economic resilience will continue in 2023 with real GDP is projected to grow by 25.1 per cent this year.
This rate of growth which currently puts Guyana among the top five fastest growing economies in 2023, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh said as he presented the 2023 budget in the National Assembly on Monday.
“This position can be largely attributed to further ramping up of oil production anticipated in the Stabroek Block. Growth in the non-oil economy is currently projected at 7.9 percent this year, driven by continued expansion in construction, other crops, and wholesale and retail trade and repairs, alongside a rebound in gold mining,” he said.
It is anticipated that there will be 136 lifts of profit oil from the Stabroek Block in 2023.
Within this, government is projected to have 17 lifts of profit oil from the producing FPSOs, earning an estimated US$1,406.6 million in profit oil and US$225.2 million in royalties in 2023.
As highlighted previously, based on 2022 deposits, an estimated US$1,002.1 million, equivalent to $208.9 billion, can be withdrawn from the Natural Resource Fund and transferred to the Consolidated Fund to support national development priorities this year.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector are expected to expand by 7.2 percent in 2023, driven by growth across all subsectors.
Notably, in 2023, the sugar growing subsector is projected to recover and expand by 29.3 percent, as GuySuCo anticipates higher performance from the existing estates, combined with forecasted production from the reopened Rose Hall estate later in the year.
Growth of 8.3 percent is projected for the rice growing subsector in 2023, with total production of 652,103 metric tonnes. This reflects continued research and development efforts driving the adoption and cultivation of new, high-yielding varieties, as well as increased acreage under cultivation this year.
In 2023, sugar manufacturing is anticipated to recover, growing by 29.3 percent. Rice and other manufacturing are expected to continue growing, by 6.1 percent and 4 percent, respectively. The recovery in value-added from sugar manufacturing, and the expansion in rice manufacturing corresponds with higher output from the producing estates, and advancements in cultivation and harvesting, respectively.
The other crops subsector is also expected to expand in 2023, at a rate of 5.8 percent. Livestock, forestry, and fishing are projected to grow at 12.1 percent, 4 percent and 8.4 percent respectively.
The mining and quarrying sector is forecasted to grow by 34.1 percent in 2023, with expansions projected for all four subsectors – oil and gas, gold, bauxite and other mining and quarrying.
The bauxite subsector recovered in 2022 from the many disruptions in 2021. This momentum is expected to continue into 2023, and with greater output expected from both large operators, the sector is projected to grow by 9.8 percent.
The expansion in the construction sector is estimated to continue this year, with growth projected at 17 percent.
