Guyanese, Surinamese rum producers working on a common blend

Last Updated on Thursday, 10 July 2025, 19:42 by Writer

Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) and Suriname Alcoholic Beverages (SAB) are jointly working on a common blend in time for the Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce (SGCC)-organised International Business Conference (IBC) to be held later this year, chamber President Vishnu Doerga said on Wednesday night.

He told a reception to mark the official launch of the conference, slated for October 14–16, 2025, that master blenders of the two companies were “currently working on a beverage collaboration between the two giants in both countries.” “Both DDL and SAB, which is the manufacturer of the Borgoe rum in Suriname, are working on what is this combined product (that) can be made and they are looking at if this can be done and how it can be done,” he said.

The SGCC conference, which will be held under the theme, “Bridging Businesses for Regional Prosperity,” will also showcase developments in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara). “We also want especially the international visitors to be able to see what’s happening in Region Three because we don’t want them to only come to the conference and locked into Region Four,” Dr Doerga said.

Industry stakeholders have already developed a joint Guyana-Suriname tourism product.

He said Guyanese micro and small businesses would be able to seize the opportunity of an exhibition at the Marriott Hotel to hold business-to-business interactions. Business Support Organisations, such as chambers of commerce and other private sector organisations, would also be represented at the exhibition and conference.

The SGCC, which was founded in August 2023 with just eight companies, has expanded into a cross-border movement of more than 100 members, with Guyanese and Surinamese businesses making up approximately 80 percent of the network, and regional and international companies encompassing 20 percent currently.

Suriname’s Ambassador to Guyana, Liselle Blankendal, in her remarks, said the IBC shows how Guyana and Suriname are working together and building stronger and more diverse economies, spanning oil and gas, agriculture, tourism and infrastructure. “Guyana is going through big changes and Suriname is also moving towards economic transformation,” she said. The France-headquartered Total Energies is developing the US$10.5 billion GranMorgu offshore project that is expected to produce 220,000 barrels of oil daily from 2029.

Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Office for Investment, Dr Peter Ramsaroop said Guyana and Suriname, along with Brazil, needed to integrate themselves to supply Caribbean countries whose food import bills are as high as US$1.2 billion. “We’re sitting on a gold mine between these two nations and we’ve got to look at it,” he said. While Jamaica’s Grace-Kennedy was interested in establishing operations in Guyana, he said Guyana, Suriname, Brazil and other Caribbean countries “can own the US$6 to US$10 billion agriculture market.”