Guyana’s catfish export ban to the U.S likely to be lifted soon

The United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, on Wednesday said the longstanding ban on Guyana’s catfish exports to the United States is moving closer to being resolved.

Exporters were severely affected when the ban was imposed in 2017, following protocols established by the US in 2016. Although countries were given a transitional period to comply, Guyana’s failure to do so at the time resulted in the ban. Before it was implemented, Guyana’s catfish exports to the US were valued at approximately $1.8 billion annually.

Speaking at a ceremony for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Guyana and Blumberg Grains, a US company, Ambassador Theriot said the two countries are working closely to lift the restriction.

“The requirements for importing catfish and much seafood into the United States became much more stringent quite a few years ago, and so Guyana had to requalify,” Theriot explained. “Guyana has taken every step we’ve asked of them. It’s a long process — they submit responses to our questions, we ask more questions — but I can tell you that it’s going very well.”

Since the ban, Guyana and the US have held several rounds of diplomatic discussions in efforts to lift it. Theriot said she is very hopeful that Guyana will soon join other countries that have met the new requirements.

“Guyana has been incredibly responsive. I am very, very hopeful that we will have this resolved soon and that it will be a positive response,” the Ambassador said.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said Guyana has done all that is required to meet the US standards and that lifting the ban will significantly benefit the country’s agriculture sector.

“I hope very shortly we can have the ban lifted so Guyana can once again export catfish to the US,” the Minister said.