By LCN Business Desk
The figure President Irfaan Ali gave last week came from the banks themselves. "They estimate now, for example, their outstanding demand to date, as we speak now, is in the vicinity just over US$200 million," he said, and some of it is a carry-forward from months in which they could not meet requests, the Guyana Chronicle reported, as La Caribeña News reported. The figure for unmet demand now comes from the institutions that ration the currency. The complaints it measures were on the record long before it.
What did the Bank of Guyana say when businesses first complained?
In March 2023 the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry said its members had complained of a lack of US dollars since 2019, Kaieteur News reported. The Bank of Guyana replied that the Chamber appeared mistaken in thinking the central bank exists to ensure foreign currency is available on demand, that the Guyana dollar floats freely, and that the Chamber should engage the commercial banks, News Room reported. Four Caribbean central bank governors have since met Africa's payment system in Port of Spain, reported in Four Caribbean Governors Met Africa's Payment System.
What have businesses reported since September 2024?
| Date | What was reported | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 12 December 2024 | GCCI President Kester Hutson: "businesses are struggling due to difficulties in accessing foreign exchange promptly"; delays to overseas suppliers fuel inflation | Guyana Times |
| 27 and 28 March 2025 | Perishable importers report onions and potatoes spoiling on the wharf; Double 'D' Trading says goods held more than three weeks and millions of dollars' worth dumped | Kaieteur News, Village Voice News |
| April 2025 | Bank of Guyana injects US$100 million | Stabroek News |
| 13 May 2025 | Azruddin Mohamed, sanctioned by OFAC, claims more than 1,000 wire transfers pending and a cambio rate of G$228 | Guyana Standard |
| 15 May 2025 | Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo says the central bank can intervene when necessary; total imports rose from $2.2 billion in 2020 to a projected $9 billion at the end of 2025 | Department of Public Information |
| 20 July 2025 | Businessman Terrence Campbell: "I requested currency and was told I have to wait two weeks minimum"; Governor Gobind Ganga says injections have stabilised the market | Stabroek News |
| 30 September 2025 | Nine foreign-exchange measures announced after US$1.2 billion injected that year; street rate near G$230 | Office of the President, Stabroek News |
| 2026 | US Commerce Department: US companies report "difficulty and delays in accessing the U.S. dollars" for imports, profits, royalties and debt service; cambio G$222 buy, G$225 sell on 24 April | trade.gov |
| 31 July 2026 | IMF: strong FX demand, especially from import-heavy private investment, "kept the FX market tight" | IMF Article IV statement |
| 21 September 2026 | Banks report just over US$200 million in unmet requests, part carried forward | Guyana Chronicle, via President Ali |
Sources: Guyana Times; Kaieteur News and Village Voice News; Stabroek News; Guyana Standard; DPI; Office of the President and Stabroek News; US International Trade Administration; IMF; Guyana Chronicle.
What did those businesses describe?
Delay, more than refusal. "Whether or not officials fully acknowledge the severity of this problem, the reality remains that businesses are struggling due to difficulties in accessing foreign exchange promptly," GCCI President Kester Hutson said at the Chamber's awards dinner in December 2024. "Time is money and delays in payments to overseas suppliers caused by these shortages carries serious consequences for businesses and the wider economy by fueling inflation," he said, as the Guyana Times reported.
The owner of Double 'D' Trading and Distribution Limited, an importer of perishables, said the struggle began in November 2024, after an earlier injection, and that goods had been held at the port for more than three weeks. "My goods are spoiling on the port, and I've had to dump millions of dollars' worth of products," the owner told Kaieteur News, as Village Voice News reported. "The banking, the system and government must tell us what is going on moving forward. It is not good for investment."
In May 2025 Azruddin Mohamed, whom the US Treasury had sanctioned and whose family's cambio licence was revoked, said that businesses were paying storage fees of up to US$100 per container per day while they waited for currency to clear goods, the Guyana Standard reported; he attributed the shortage to the sanctions on his family's cambio. La Caribeña News has reported on the tax case over the Mohameds' vehicles.
In July 2025 businessman Terrence Campbell said shortages would continue despite injections "if government doesn't take action to address the root cause", while Bank of Guyana Governor Gobind Ganga said periodic interventions had stabilised the market and there was "no need for panic", Stabroek News reported.
What did an outside observer record?
The US Department of Commerce, in its country commercial guide for Guyana, describes "an ongoing chronic local shortage of U.S. dollars" and says "U.S. companies have reported difficulty and delays in accessing the U.S. dollars necessary to make payments for goods and services procured from the U.S. to repatriate profits, pay royalties abroad and make interest payments on corporate debt issued outside of Guyana," according to the International Trade Administration. It recorded the Bank of Guyana's transaction rate at G$208.5 and cambio rates of G$222 to buy and G$225 to sell on 24 April 2026.
How much currency is now moving through the system?
More than ever. Total foreign-currency availability reached US$3.115 billion from January to June 2026, up 27.7 per cent on a year earlier, commercial banks bought US$2.279 billion and central bank injections rose to US$836 million, President Ali said, according to the Department of Public Information release carried by EIN Presswire. The US$200 million queue sits on top of that.
Businesses were describing a queue in 2024 and 2025. In September 2026 the banks measured it. The companion pieces set out what the government is doing about it, in Banks Told the President US$200 Million Is Unfilled, and what the IMF recommends, in The IMF Says Investment Imports Keep Guyana's Currency Market Tight. La Caribeña News has also reported what the currency queue means for a small importer financed by the new Guyana Development Bank.
What the title card shows
- Since 2019: the GCCI's date for the start of members' complaints. Source: Kaieteur News.
- Two weeks minimum: the wait one businessman was told for currency, July 2025. Source: Stabroek News.
- US$1.2 billion: injected in 2025 before the nine measures. Source: Stabroek News.
- Just over US$200 million: unmet requests at the banks, September 2026. Source: Guyana Chronicle.
- Quotation: "businesses are struggling due to difficulties in accessing foreign exchange promptly", GCCI President Kester Hutson, December 2024. Source: Guyana Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a US dollar shortage in Guyana?
Guyana's commercial banks reported in September 2026 that just over US$200 million in foreign-currency requests was unfilled, part carried forward from earlier months. Businesses, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and a US government trade guide had reported delays in obtaining US dollars throughout 2024 and 2025.
When did businesses start complaining about US dollars?
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in March 2023 that its members had complained of a lack of US dollars since 2019.
What did the Bank of Guyana say about the shortage?
In 2023 it said the Chamber appeared mistaken in thinking the central bank must ensure foreign currency on demand, and told it to engage the commercial banks. In 2025 its governor said periodic interventions had stabilised the market.
What is the government doing?
It introduced nine foreign-exchange measures in September 2025, and in September 2026 began reviewing the structure of demand with former Finance Minister Asgar Ally.