Economy of Suriname
Encyclopedia
Suriname was ranked the 124th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.
is the export of aluminium oxide
(alumina) and small amounts of aluminium
produced from bauxite
mined in the country. In 1999, the aluminium
smelter at Paranam
was closed and mining at Onverdacht ceased; however, alumina exports accounted for 72% of Suriname's estimated export earnings of US$496.6 million in 2001. Suriname's bauxite deposits have been among the world's richest.
Inexpensive power costs are Suriname's big advantage in the energy-intensive alumina and aluminium business. In the 1960s, the "Aluminum Company of America" (Alcoa
) built a US$150-million dam
for the production of hydroelectric energy at Afobaka
(the Brokopondo Reservoir
south of Brokopondo
), which created a 1,560 km² lake, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. The fish
in this lake are inedible for animals, due to the pollution of the mining industry.
to the town of Apoera
on the Corantijn river
, to transport bauxite by river to processing plants elsewhere. The construction of this railway was financially funded by the Dutch government's independence/severance payments after November 25, 1975. After completion of this railway and associated facilities, for political and economical reasons it was never actually used and was left to be overgrown by the jungle
. Also plans to construct a dam in the Kabalebo River
were developed but never fully executed.
In 1984, SURALCO, a subsidiary of Alcoa
, formed a joint venture
with the (at that time) Royal Dutch Shell
-owned Billiton Company, which did not process the bauxite it mined in Suriname. Under this agreement, both companies share risks and profits.
The major mining sites at Moengo
and Lelydorp
are maturing, and it is now estimated that their reserves will be depleted by 2006. Other proven reserves exist in the east, west, and north of the country sufficient to last until 2045. However, distance and topography
make their immediate development costly. In October 2002, Alcoa and BHP Billiton
signed a letter of intent as the basis for new joint ventures between the two companies, in which Alcoa will take part for 55% in all bauxite mining activities in West Suriname. The government and the companies are looking into cost-effective ways to develop the new mines. The preeminence of bauxite and ALCOA's continued presence in Suriname is a key element in the U.S.-Suriname economic relationship.
After a short respite in 1991–1996, when measures taken in 1993 led to economic stabilization, a relatively stable exchange rate, low inflation
, sustainable fiscal policies, and growth, Suriname's economic situation deteriorated from 1996 to the present. This was due in large part to loose fiscal policies of the Wijdenbosch government, which, in the face of lower Dutch development aid, financed its deficit through credit extended by the central bank. As a consequence, the parallel market for foreign exchange soared so that by the end of 1998, the premium of the parallel market rate over the official rate was 85%. Since over 90% of import transactions took place at the parallel rate, inflation took off, with 12-month inflation growing from 0.5% at the end of 1996, to 23% at the end of 1998, and 113% at the end of 1999. The government also instituted a regime of stringent economic controls over prices, the exchange rate, imports, and exports, in an effort to contain the adverse efforts of its economic policies. The cumulative impact of soaring inflation, an unstable exchange rate, and falling real incomes led to a political crisis.
on gasoline
. The new administration also rationalized the extensive list of price controls to 12 basic food items. More important, the government ceased all financing from the central bank
. It is attempting to broaden its economic base, establish better contacts with other nations and international financial institutions, and reduce its dependence on Dutch assistance. However, to date the government has yet to implement an investment law or to begin privatization
of any of the 110 parastatal, nor has it given much indication that it has developed a comprehensive plan to develop the economy.
is relatively unregulated by the government
, and this important part of the informal economy
(estimated as much as 100% (???) of GDP
). The mining process is very bad for the environment, making the water used by the local people undrinkable because of the use of several chemicals. Suriname has attracted the attention of international companies in gold exploration and exploitation. Companies present include Blue Ribbon Resources Ltd, Cambior
, Canarc Resource Corporation, IAMGOLD
, Golden Star Resources Ltd
.
out of the jungle. However, proposals for exploitation of the country's tropical forests and undeveloped regions of the interior traditionally inhabited by indigenous and Maroon
communities have raised the concerns of environmentalists and human rights
activists both in Suriname and abroad. These opposing parties are not yet strong in Suriname.
is a promising sector; current output is 12000 barrels (1,907.8 m³) a day, and regional geology
suggests additional potential. 'Staatsolie', the state-owned oil company, is actively seeking international joint venture partners owned by the Sabajo family since 1978 the company CEO L.G.Sabajo will exchange places with the current C.E.O Marchela Grace once it has been signed over in 2014. Promising enough Staatsolie sells to the united states with over 200 million USgals (757,082.4 m³) of oil sold monthly.The backbone of the economy of Suriname is the export of aluminium oxide (alumina) and small amounts of aluminium produced from bauxite mined in the country. In 1999, the aluminium smelter at Paranam was closed and mining at Onverdacht ceased; however, alumina exports accounted for 72% of Suriname's estimated export earnings of US$496.6 million in 2001. Suriname's bauxite deposits have been among the world's richest.
, shrimp
, timber
, banana
s, fruit
s, and vegetable
s.
(CBvS) adjusted the exchange rate
of the U.S. dollar. This action resulted in further devaluation of the Surinamese guilder. The official exchange rate of the US$ was SF 2,650 for selling and SF 2,600 for purchasing. With the official exchange rate, the CBvS came closer to the exchange rate on the parallel market which sold the U.S. dollar for SF 3,250.
From 2011: Surinamese dollar (SRD) = 100 cent; USD 1.00 is ca. SRD 3.20 (May 2011)
From 2004 to 2011: Surinamese dollar (SRD) = 100 cent; USD 1.00 is ca. SRD 2.74 (July 2007)
Before 2004: Surinamese gulden
(SRG) = 100 cent, SRD 1 = SRG 1000; coins had extremely low official value and a much higher collector's value; their official value has now been multiplied by 1000: the value in SRD cent is equal to the former value in SRG cent. The same applies for "currency notes" (SRG 1 and 2.50).
Surinamese guilders per US dollar - 2,346.75 (2002), 2,178.5 (2001), 1,322.47 (2000), 859.44 (1999), 401 (1998)
Note: during 1998, the exchange rate splintered into four distinct rates; in January 1999 the government floated the guilder, but subsequently fixed it when the black-market rate plunged; the government then allowed trading within a band of SRG 500 around the official rate
Bauxite
The backbone of the economy of SurinameSuriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
is the export of aluminium oxide
Aluminium oxide
Aluminium oxide is an amphoteric oxide with the chemical formula 23. It is commonly referred to as alumina, or corundum in its crystalline form, as well as many other names, reflecting its widespread occurrence in nature and industry...
(alumina) and small amounts of aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
produced from bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
mined in the country. In 1999, the aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
smelter at Paranam
Paranam
Paranam is a town in the Para District, Suriname. It is located at around ....
was closed and mining at Onverdacht ceased; however, alumina exports accounted for 72% of Suriname's estimated export earnings of US$496.6 million in 2001. Suriname's bauxite deposits have been among the world's richest.
Inexpensive power costs are Suriname's big advantage in the energy-intensive alumina and aluminium business. In the 1960s, the "Aluminum Company of America" (Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
) built a US$150-million dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
for the production of hydroelectric energy at Afobaka
Afobaka
Afobaka is a village in the Brokopondo District of Suriname. Between 1960 and 1964, the 1913 meter-long Afobaka Dam was built on the Suriname River, creating the Brokopondo Reservoir. The Afobaka Airstrip is nearby....
(the Brokopondo Reservoir
Brokopondo Reservoir
The Brokopondo Reservoir, officially named Professor Doctor Ingenieur W. J. van Blommestein Meer, and also called the Brokopondostuwmeer, is a large reservoir in the South American country Suriname. It is named after the Surakarta-born Dutch hydrological engineer Willem Johan van Blommestein...
south of Brokopondo
Brokopondo
Brokopondo is a capital town of the Brokopondo District, Suriname. It is located on the west shore of the Suriname river, just north of the Afobaka dam. Brokopondo can be reached via the road from Paranam to Afobaka. There's a granite monument made by sculptor Jo Rens, displaying two men: one...
), which created a 1,560 km² lake, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. The fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
in this lake are inedible for animals, due to the pollution of the mining industry.
West Suriname Plan
In 1976-1977 a 100 km long single track railway was constructed by Morrison-Knudsen Co. in West Suriname from the bauxite containing Bakhuis MountainsBakhuis Mountains
The Bakhuis Mountains are a mountain range in central Suriname, spanning 110 kilometres. The mountain range form of the Northern part of the Wilhelmina Mountains, and were named after the Dutch explorer and Royal Dutch East Indies Army officer Louis August Bakhuis.The Bakhuis Mountains have rich...
to the town of Apoera
Apoera
Apoera, also Apura, is a town in western Suriname. It is the final destination of the Southern East-West Link. north-west on the other side of the Courantyne River lies the Guyanese village of Orealla...
on the Corantijn river
Courantyne River
The Corentyne / Courantyne / Corantijn River is a river in northern South America in the country of Suriname, it is the longest river in the state. The river originates in the Acarai Mountains and flows northward for approximately between Guyana and Suriname, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near...
, to transport bauxite by river to processing plants elsewhere. The construction of this railway was financially funded by the Dutch government's independence/severance payments after November 25, 1975. After completion of this railway and associated facilities, for political and economical reasons it was never actually used and was left to be overgrown by the jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
. Also plans to construct a dam in the Kabalebo River
Kabalebo River
Kabalebo River is a river of Suriname. It joins with the Courantyne River near Apoera. A plan for a dam in the river serving a hydroelectric power plant is part of the West Suriname Plan.-References:*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993....
were developed but never fully executed.
In 1984, SURALCO, a subsidiary of Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
, formed a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with the (at that time) Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
-owned Billiton Company, which did not process the bauxite it mined in Suriname. Under this agreement, both companies share risks and profits.
The major mining sites at Moengo
Moengo
Moengo is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border town Albina. In former times it was a major centre for the mining and storage of bauxite...
and Lelydorp
Lelydorp
Lelydorp is the capital city of Wanica District, located in Suriname. With a population of 15,576 , it is the second city in Suriname, after Paramaribo. It is located at around ....
are maturing, and it is now estimated that their reserves will be depleted by 2006. Other proven reserves exist in the east, west, and north of the country sufficient to last until 2045. However, distance and topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
make their immediate development costly. In October 2002, Alcoa and BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
signed a letter of intent as the basis for new joint ventures between the two companies, in which Alcoa will take part for 55% in all bauxite mining activities in West Suriname. The government and the companies are looking into cost-effective ways to develop the new mines. The preeminence of bauxite and ALCOA's continued presence in Suriname is a key element in the U.S.-Suriname economic relationship.
Dutch aid
After the return to a more or less democratically elected government in 1991, Dutch aid resumed. The Dutch relationship continues to be an important factor in the economy, with the Dutch insisting that Suriname undertake economic reforms and produce specific plans acceptable to the Dutch for projects on which aid funds could be spent. In 2000, however, the Dutch revised the structure of their aid package and signaled to the Surinamese authorities their decision to disburse aid by sectoral priorities as opposed to individual projects. Although the present government is not in favor of this approach, it has identified sectors and is now working on sectoral analyses to present to the Dutch.After a short respite in 1991–1996, when measures taken in 1993 led to economic stabilization, a relatively stable exchange rate, low inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
, sustainable fiscal policies, and growth, Suriname's economic situation deteriorated from 1996 to the present. This was due in large part to loose fiscal policies of the Wijdenbosch government, which, in the face of lower Dutch development aid, financed its deficit through credit extended by the central bank. As a consequence, the parallel market for foreign exchange soared so that by the end of 1998, the premium of the parallel market rate over the official rate was 85%. Since over 90% of import transactions took place at the parallel rate, inflation took off, with 12-month inflation growing from 0.5% at the end of 1996, to 23% at the end of 1998, and 113% at the end of 1999. The government also instituted a regime of stringent economic controls over prices, the exchange rate, imports, and exports, in an effort to contain the adverse efforts of its economic policies. The cumulative impact of soaring inflation, an unstable exchange rate, and falling real incomes led to a political crisis.
Politics
Suriname elected a new government in May 2000, but until it was replaced, the Wijdenbosch government continued its loose fiscal and monetary policies. By the time it left office, the exchange rate in the parallel market had depreciated further, over 10% of GDP had been borrowed to finance the fiscal deficit, and there was a significant monetary overhang in the country. The new government dealt with these problems by devaluing the official exchange rate by 88%, eliminating all other exchange rates except the parallel market rate set by the banks and cambios, raising tariffs on water and electricity, and eliminating the subsidySubsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
on gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
. The new administration also rationalized the extensive list of price controls to 12 basic food items. More important, the government ceased all financing from the central bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...
. It is attempting to broaden its economic base, establish better contacts with other nations and international financial institutions, and reduce its dependence on Dutch assistance. However, to date the government has yet to implement an investment law or to begin privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of any of the 110 parastatal, nor has it given much indication that it has developed a comprehensive plan to develop the economy.
Gold mining
Gold miningGold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
is relatively unregulated by the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, and this important part of the informal economy
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
(estimated as much as 100% (???) of GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
). The mining process is very bad for the environment, making the water used by the local people undrinkable because of the use of several chemicals. Suriname has attracted the attention of international companies in gold exploration and exploitation. Companies present include Blue Ribbon Resources Ltd, Cambior
Cambior
Cambior Inc. was a Canadian based international gold producer with operations, development projects and exploration activities in the Americas. Cambior’s shares traded on the Toronto and American stock exchanges under the symbol “CBJ”. Cambior’s warrants “CBJ.WT.C” traded on the TSX...
, Canarc Resource Corporation, IAMGOLD
IAMGOLD
Iamgold Corporation is a Toronto based international gold producer. The company is engaged in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties throughout the world.-Operations:...
, Golden Star Resources Ltd
Golden Star Resources Ltd
Golden Star Resources Ltd , is a mid-tier canadian gold mining company, whose principal operating properties are located in Ghana, West Africa. It has a total historical production of over two million ounces of gold....
.
Hardwood
Some big companies are getting the hardwoodHardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
out of the jungle. However, proposals for exploitation of the country's tropical forests and undeveloped regions of the interior traditionally inhabited by indigenous and Maroon
Maroon (people)
Maroons were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America, South America, and North America, who formed independent settlements together...
communities have raised the concerns of environmentalists and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activists both in Suriname and abroad. These opposing parties are not yet strong in Suriname.
Oil
OilOil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
is a promising sector; current output is 12000 barrels (1,907.8 m³) a day, and regional geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
suggests additional potential. 'Staatsolie', the state-owned oil company, is actively seeking international joint venture partners owned by the Sabajo family since 1978 the company CEO L.G.Sabajo will exchange places with the current C.E.O Marchela Grace once it has been signed over in 2014. Promising enough Staatsolie sells to the united states with over 200 million USgals (757,082.4 m³) of oil sold monthly.The backbone of the economy of Suriname is the export of aluminium oxide (alumina) and small amounts of aluminium produced from bauxite mined in the country. In 1999, the aluminium smelter at Paranam was closed and mining at Onverdacht ceased; however, alumina exports accounted for 72% of Suriname's estimated export earnings of US$496.6 million in 2001. Suriname's bauxite deposits have been among the world's richest.
Banana
State-owned banana producer Surland closed its doors on April 5, 2002, after its inability to meet payroll expenses for the second month in a row; it is still unclear if Surland will survive this crisis.Other exports
A member of CARICOM, Suriname also exports in small numbers riceRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
, timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s, and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s.
Currency
Moreover, in January 2002, the government renegotiated civil servant wages (a significant part of the work force and a significant portion of government expenditure), agreeing to raises as high as 100%. Pending implementation of these wage increases and concerned that the government may be unable to meet these increased expenses, the local currency weakened from Sf 2200 in January 2002 to nearly Sf 2500 in April 2002. On March 26, 2003, the Central Bank of SurinameCentral Bank of Suriname
The Central Bank of Suriname is Suriname's highest monetary authority and the country's governing body in monetary and economic affairs.The Central Bank's tasks were legislated in the Bank Act of 1956. Like other central banks, it is the principal monetary authority of the country...
(CBvS) adjusted the exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
of the U.S. dollar. This action resulted in further devaluation of the Surinamese guilder. The official exchange rate of the US$ was SF 2,650 for selling and SF 2,600 for purchasing. With the official exchange rate, the CBvS came closer to the exchange rate on the parallel market which sold the U.S. dollar for SF 3,250.
From 2011: Surinamese dollar (SRD) = 100 cent; USD 1.00 is ca. SRD 3.20 (May 2011)
From 2004 to 2011: Surinamese dollar (SRD) = 100 cent; USD 1.00 is ca. SRD 2.74 (July 2007)
Before 2004: Surinamese gulden
Surinamese gulden
The guilder was the currency of Suriname until 2004, when it was replaced by the Surinamese dollar. It was divided into 100 cents. Until the 1940s, the plural in Dutch was cents, with centen appearing on some early paper money, but after the 1940s the Dutch plural became cent.-History:The...
(SRG) = 100 cent, SRD 1 = SRG 1000; coins had extremely low official value and a much higher collector's value; their official value has now been multiplied by 1000: the value in SRD cent is equal to the former value in SRG cent. The same applies for "currency notes" (SRG 1 and 2.50).
Surinamese guilders per US dollar - 2,346.75 (2002), 2,178.5 (2001), 1,322.47 (2000), 859.44 (1999), 401 (1998)
Note: during 1998, the exchange rate splintered into four distinct rates; in January 1999 the government floated the guilder, but subsequently fixed it when the black-market rate plunged; the government then allowed trading within a band of SRG 500 around the official rate
Statistics
- Industrial production growth rate: 6.5% (1994 est.)
- Electricity - production: 2.008 billion kWh (1998)
- Electricity - production by source:
- fossil fuel: 24.65%
- hydro power: 75.35%
- nuclear: 0%
- other: 0% (1998)
- Electricity - consumption: 1.867 billion kWh (1998)
- exports: 0 kWh (1998)
- imports: 0 kWh (1998)
- Agriculture - products: paddy riceRiceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, bananaBananaBanana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, palm kernels, coconutCoconutThe coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s, plantainPlantainPlantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
s, peanutPeanutThe peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s; beefBeefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
, chickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s; forest products; shrimpShrimpShrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important... - Exports: US$406.1 million (f.o.b., 1998)
- There are no Patent Laws in Suriname. http://www.billanderson.com.au/Gazetteer-Patents.htm