PARAMARIBO--Businesses in Suriname are no longer allowed to accept the US dollar as means of payment, Government has announced over the weekend. A joint press release from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Suriname CBvS said that this “de-dollarisation” is one of the measures being taken to achieve a balanced economy and a stable exchange rate.
The release said that all payments for goods have to be made in the Surinamese dollar SRD, especially goods produced in Suriname. It also said that measures are being taken to assure that all income from the export sector gets repatriated. The de-dollarisation is taking effect immediately.
Meanwhile directives are also being put in place to get a proper overview of foreign exchange transactions that are made by the Government-owned companies. “These policies are meant to support a stable foreign exchange market and decrease the dollarisation of our local economy,” the release said, adding, “This is in the country’s interest.”
It is not the first time Government has taken measures “to gain more respect for the local currency.” In 2012 the Ministry of Finance rolled out an extensive advertising campaign in which it advised shop owners that they were obliged to offer their products in SRD. Government said then that it hoped that the urge for US dollars would diminish once business people only accepted the local currency as payment. However, it did not work and the US dollar has maintained its lead over the SRD.
Suriname has been grappling with an economic crisis since the beginning of the year that has been pushing the exchange rate for the US dollar up. The SRD has plummeted to more than half its initial value, with exchange rates for the US dollar peaking at SRD 8.20 and for the euro SRD 9 a few months ago.
