Source: www.caribbean360.com, Editor, First Published June, 02nd, 2026
Bilateral trade between Guyana and Brazil has surged from approximately US$58 million in 2020 to US$1 billion in 2026 — a more than sixteen-fold increase in just six years — according to Brazil’s Ambassador to Guyana, Maria Cristina de Castro Martins, who confirmed the figures during an interview on 104.1 Guyana Lite FM.
The ambassador attributed the sharp rise to growing demand across energy, mining, infrastructure and construction sectors. Guyana’s exports to Brazil are heavily concentrated in crude oil, which accounts for roughly 98 per cent of shipments, while Brazil’s exports to Guyana consist predominantly of machinery and industrial equipment — approximately 80 per cent — used in construction, oil production, mining and extractive industries. UN COMTRADE data places Brazil’s exports to Guyana at US$450.2 million in 2025 alone, consistent with the trajectory toward the 2026 bilateral total.
The ambassador’s remarks came ahead of a business forum hosted by the World Trade Centre Georgetown in collaboration with the Embassy of Brazil, where a visiting Brazilian delegation was expected to advance discussions on Guyana’s deeper engagement with MERCOSUR, the South American trade bloc in which Guyana currently holds associate status.
Dr. Peter Ramsaroop, Chief Investment Officer at the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest), responded to the announcement by pointing to a pipeline of infrastructure projects designed to cement the partnership — including an upgraded road corridor to northern Brazil, expansion of the Tristar port terminal, a proposed deep-water port in Berbice, and plans to elevate Lethem Airport to international hub status.
A near sixteen-fold rise in bilateral trade in six years is not a footnote — it is a structural shift. For the Caribbean, it signals that Guyana is rapidly becoming the region’s most consequential economic pivot point, sitting at the intersection of Atlantic oil revenues and South American industrial supply chains.
According to Go-Invest, infrastructure investments now in progress or proposed — including the upgraded road corridor to northern Brazil, expansion of the Tristar port terminal, a proposed deep-water port in Berbice, and plans to upgrade Lethem Airport into an international hub — are designed to convert geographic advantage into durable commercial architecture. Local businesses in Lethem and Region Nine are expected to benefit through logistics, warehousing, hospitality, and agro-processing growth.
