SITA’s First Export Barometer Survey Shows Positive Expectations for Exports in the following 12 months
The Suriname Investment and Trade Agency (SITA) conducted a barometer survey among exporters and foreign investors in Suriname, from the 27th of August 2024 until the 16th of October 2024. A total of 178 companies have participated in this survey. 68% of these companies are exporters (or are planning to start exporting within three years) and 32% are foreign investors. The barometer survey measures exporter and investor confidence in Suriname. Additionally, it is meant to improve our understanding of the main constraints and prospects faced by exporters, investors, as well as future exporters and
foreign investors. The Barometer Survey will be undertaken every six months by SITA.
Exports
Most exporting companies have positive expectations for the future: 65% of surveyed companies expect an increase in their exports/overseas revenue during the following 12 months. Only 16% expect a decrease. If we attempt to visualize their expectations in a barometer (see figure), exporting companies gave an average score of 6.5 (on a scale of 0 to 10) when asked if they think that their exports will increase or decrease in the following 12 months (if we exclude the extractive sectors, the score is 6.4).
Other findings regarding exporting companies:
● Around 39% of exporters sell their products in the region (Caribbean & Latin American countries), 30% export to the EU, 18% to the USA and 9% to Asia.
● The majority of exporters still rely on the domestic market for the bulk of their sales, with 58% of exporters surveyed deriving less than one quarter of their income from foreign sales in Suriname. Conversely, only 17% of exporters derive more than three quarters of their income from foreign sales.
● It appears that exporters of services (score 6.7) have slightly higher expectations than exporters of goods (score 6.2).
● Bigger companies (by number of employees) with 250+ employees have higher expectations (score 8.1) than small companies with less than 50 employees (6.1) and medium-sized companies with 50-250 employees (6.8).
Business climate
All surveyed companies were asked about the business enabling environment in Suriname.
● More than half of all companies (52%) are more optimistic about the business climate in Suriname compared to 12 months ago. 25% are less optimistic and 24% reported no change.
● However, 83% of larger firms (more than 250 employees) are more optimistic about the business climate, while only 48% of small firms (with less than 50 employees) are optimistic.
● Exporters are less optimistic: only 47% are optimistic about the business climate, compared to 63% of foreign investors.
● The majority of companies expect an increase in five areas (orders, workforce, investments, profit and turnover) in the following 12 months. In this time period, 73% of companies expect an increase in their turnover, 62% expect an increase in profit, 66% expect an increase in investments, 57% expect an increase in their workforce, and 72% expect an increase in their orders.
● The 5 issues most commonly reported by companies as a major or very severe obstacle that they face are:
1. Corruption (74% of companies have reported that this is a major or very severe obstacle)
2. Bureaucratic hurdles (inefficiency of government) (69%)
3. Currency fluctuations (65%)
4. Political instability (unpredictability of policymaking) (65%)
5. Lack of transparency (concerning regulations) (57%)
On behalf of SITA, we would like to thank all those who have participated and made this survey a success. Without you, it would not have been possible to get such a thorough understanding of the business climate in Suriname.
