SITA Third Export Barometer Survey: Local Business Confidence Grows, Export Sentiment Declines and Persistent Challenges Remain
The third Barometer Survey of the Suriname Investment & Trade Agency (SITA) has been conducted in March 2026. The results of the previous two Barometer Surveys have been presented during an in-person media briefing for stakeholders on March 13th, 2026. The full report of these surveys has also been published on SITA’s website and is publicly accessible. The Barometer Survey measures business sentiment, business constraints, as well as companies’ expectations over the next 12 months across a variety of performance indicators, whether this be an increase, decrease, or no change. Now that the Barometer Survey has been held three times, trends are starting to appear and trend analyses are now possible.
The number of responding companies has increased. This round, 212 companies have participated in the survey (compared to 178 and 153 in the first and second rounds, respectively). These companies represent a diverse and balanced cross-section of exporters and foreign investors from a wide range of sectors and company sizes. In addition, the directory of companies has expanded to 770 companies, comprising both Surinamese exporters and foreign investors active in the country. Exporters include companies that serve tourists and those who provide services in a country outside of Suriname or to foreign entities. The participation rate for this survey is 28%, which remains well above the national average for similar research projects. It is also worth mentioning that 125 companies have participated in at least two of the three surveys.
Local Business Confidence Grows, While Export Sentiment Declines
The results show that the business confidence score (all scores are measured on a scale from 0 to 10) is gradually and consistently increasing, while the export expectation score is fluctuating. This indicates increasing confidence in local developments, but concern about international factors. The survey also measures the expectations that companies have for their own performance on four different metrics (turnover, profit, investments and workforce) during the following 12 months. Compared to the business and export confidence scores, these four indicators show minor to no changes, which indicates that, on average, companies have relatively stable and consistent expectations regarding their own operational performance.
Persistent Challenges Remain
All three survey rounds show that structural challenges persist, with the following obstacles repeatedly ranking among the most critical: bureaucratic inefficiencies, currency fluctuations, unpredictability of policymaking, high inflation, and labor market constraints. While the obstacles that companies face have mostly remained stable, a trend that emerged is that labor market challenges are becoming more prominent and severe. This increase has been consistently visible and appears to be intensifying when comparing the first, second, and third survey results. Additionally, while the primary labor-related issue was ‘cost and availability’ in previous surveys, it has been surpassed by ‘skill/educational level/productivity’. The third round of the survey went more in-depth into the issues that companies face, which provides SITA, relevant government agencies and other stakeholders with additional information about how these issues affect the daily operations of companies. This provides valuable insights that can help design policy measures and interventions to improve the business environment in Suriname.
Acknowledgment and Commitment
SITA expresses its sincere appreciation to all participating companies for their input. Their contributions provide the foundation for strategic efforts to promote sustainable growth and to position Suriname as a strong and reliable partner in international trade and investment.
