Trade: Market access

trade: market access

1. Good access to other markets

Multilateral agreements

(go to the green dot in a country/region to see the agreement)

WTO treaty
Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (The Caribbean Community and Common Market – CARICOM)
CARICOM- Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement
CARICOM-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement
Second Protocol to the Trade and Economic Agreement between the CARICOM and the Government of the Republic of Cuba
CARIFORUM- EU Economic Partnership Agreement
CARIFORUM- UK Economic Partnership Agreement
Cotonou Partnership Agreement

Also, Suriname belongs to several integration processes such as :

Member state of The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)
Member state of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS)

Exporting from Suriname allow businesses to profit from preferential treatment in several markets, as the country is party to several bilateral and multilateral trade agreements:

Bilateral agreements

(go to the green dot in a country/region to see the agreement) MOU or programme)

- Agreement with Brazil concerning Tariff Concessions for the Rice Trade
- Trade agreement between the Republic of Suriname and Republic of Indonesia
- MOU Suriname- Antigua and Barbuda
- MOU Suriname – Barbados
- MOU Suriname – Dominica
- MOU Suriname – Ghana (tourism and mining)

Member state of the Forum of the Caribbean group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM)
Associate member state of Mercado Común del Sur – MERCOSUR

2. Main export markets

Exports are key for Surinamese economy. In fact, in 2019 the export of merchandise supposed the 59,9% of the country’s GDP while the export of services supposed 3,4% of the GDP.

India

1.38 billion consumers

Average exports/year
2011-2020 to India
thousand USD: 7.897

CARICOM

18.3 million consumers

Average exports/year
2011-2020 to CARICOM
thousand USD : 137.747

China

1.4 billion consumers

Average exports/year
2011-2020 to India
thousand USD: 18.444

United Arab Emirates

9,9 million consumers

Average exports/year
2011-2020 to UAE
thousand USD : 477.631

Switzerland

8.7 million consumers

Average exports/year
2011-2020 to Switzerland
thousand USD 283.139

European Union

447 million consumers
Average exports/year
2011-2020 to the European Union thousand
USD: 220.608

Canada

37,7 million consumers

Average exports/year
2011-2020 to Canada
thousand USD: 84.270

USA

331 million consumers

Average exports/year
2011-2020 to USA
thousand USD: 142.573

3. Suriname as an export hub

BETTER TRADE INDICATORS THAN THE LATIN AMERICAN AND THE CARIBBEAN AVERAGE

The 2020 Doing Business report gave a score of 75/100 to the country in the topic “Trading across borders” while the regional average was set at 69,1 points.

In fact, Suriname was better placed than the average Lat in American and the Caribbean in several of the subcategories, both in terms of time and costs:

SEVERAL MARKETS AND PRODUCTS WITH UNTAPPED EXPORT POTENTIAL

The country has untapped potential (being the absolute difference between potential and actual exports in value terms) regarding several markets and export products .

In terms of target markets, five are key, among others:

The International Trade Centre quantifies that Suriname has a total untapped export potential of 304,2 million USD, focused, among other products, on:

SIMPLIFIED AND FASTER PROCEDURES

A. Custom clearance through ASYCUDA world
Since 2015, Suriname applied this system for custom clearance, which is designed to facilitate and improve calculation, collection and accounting of customs duties, among other, related to customs operations and, in turn, speed-up the clearance of goods.

B. Export process through the Suriname’s Electronic Single Window
Exporters rely on an Electronic Single Window provided by the Government in order to be able to handle all the necessary trade related documentation in one location : https://www.sesw.sr/TFBSEW/login/aboutus.jsp?language=en

This entails certain advantages for traders:

Procedures run faster
Procedures can be managed from anywhere
Access to all the trade-related documents via a single digital log-in
Possibility to send the documents directly to the corresponding government department
Promotes the collection of import duties and other government transaction costs
Traders can be electronically informed of the result of the trading process

GOOD CONNECTIVITY

Good air connectivity: the country possesses two international airports with direct connections to regional transport hubs such as Amsterdam, Belem or Miami.

Expanding sea connectivity: The Government is promoting projects to foster Suriname’s role as a regional and international maritime hub. In fact, there are 17 facilities in Suriname certified as fulfilling the International Maritime Organization requirements of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.

trade: market access

4. Support

Suriname Investment and Trade Agency (SITA) is the national Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (TIPA) and is comitted to be the strategic and the trusted partner of anyone who wants to do business in Suriname. Need support? Contact us here.

Entities linked to Trade :

Ministries:

Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, International Business And International Cooperation Suriname
Ministry Of Agriculture, Livestock And Fisheries
Ministry Of Finance And Planning
Ministry Of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship And Technological Innovation
Ministry Of Natural Resources
Ministry Of Land And Forest Management
Ministry Of Transport, Communication And Tourism