GNBS developing national policy, adds more products, services for testing

Last Updated on Friday, 28 November 2025, 9:45 by Writer

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is working on a national policy aimed at further improving standards and quality in its products and services, Minister of Industry and Commerce Susan Rodrigues said on Wednesday night.

She told the GNBS’s National Quality Awards (NQA) that that policy would formalise stakeholder interactions and strengthen the national quality infrastructure. “The policy seeks to ensure that products and services meet defined standards and requirements in the public and private sectors,” she said.

More than 100 businesses were qualified to vie for the awards, but in the end 35 were recipients. They included a number of government or state-owned entities such as the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

GNBS, in collaboration with the Caribbean Regional Organisation on Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), has developed a national standardisation strategy for 2025-2028.

The industry and commerce minister said that document, which supports digital transformation, focusses on economic growth and competitiveness.

She said as Guyana continues its thrust towards digital transformation, the GNBS has been “actively expanding its work” by, among other things, adopting 22 new national standards. Those standards, she said, cover items such as salt, ice cream, milk, abattoirs, helmets and liquid petroleum gas.

The Minister also announced that from 2026, the local standards bureau would begin verifying chargers used for electric vehicles. Also on the cards is its expansion of the ‘Made in Guyana’ certification programme to include criteria to meet export requirements in collaboration with the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest).

The GNBS has developed more than 600 standards, with 11 additional standards awaiting approval, surpassing key performance indicators.

Located in the Sophia Exhibition Center compound, the GNBS houses 26 laboratories and has expanded its legal and metrology services.

Administratively, the Minister Rodrigues said GNBS has digitised its metrology database to reduce processing times for clients and issue real-time certificates.

Meanwhile, CROSQ’s Chief Executive Officer Sharonmae Smith-Walker hailed the GNBS’ “remarkable journey” since it was launched in 2017. She recalled that GNBS was modelled after the “invaluable experience and input” of Jamaica’s Bureau of Standards, the regional pioneer.

Ms Smith-Walker said several other standards bureaus across the region – Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines – have all developed their own quality recognition ceremonies. “This ripple effect of shared knowledge and collaboration is a testament to the power of leadership and partnership in CARICOM,” she added.

The CROSQ Director said GNBS has been providing free training and mentorship to other CARICOM member states. She singled out Belize as a recipient of Guyana’s technical assistance in metrology. “This is Guyana’s commitment to share knowledge, build capacity and strengthen the Caribbean’s collective quality infrastructure,” she added.