-essential to transforming the corporation into a vibrant agro-industrial hub
The government of Guyana is advancing a bold plan to modernise the sugar industry and set the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) up for long-term success and profitability.
They have budgeted $13.4 billion for 2026 to enhance mechanisation, efficiency, and value-added production.
While presenting Budget 2026, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, said that restoring GuySuCo’s financial health is a key priority for the government.
The ongoing rehabilitation and modernisation efforts aim to increase production and revitalise rural economies, securing livelihoods for thousands of Guyanese.
In the past five years, the administration has reopened the Rose Hall Estate and improved factory and field operations at Albion, Blairmont, Rose Hall, and Uitvlugt.
These actions have helped energise sugar-producing communities in Berbice and West Demerara. The government also changed GuySuCo’s marketing approach from bulk sugar exports to higher-value products and provided economic support to more than 5,200 laid-off workers.
Currently, employment in the sugar industry is over 8,300. Dr Singh said that in 2025, the Albion packaging plant began operations, and critical factory equipment, along with two mechanical harvesters, were purchased to boost efficiency at the estates.
Key work completed last year included rehabilitating over 100 cane punts, restoring the Blairmont wharf, and upgrading rotary sugar dryers, billet cane yards, and more than five kilometres of access roads.
The sector also advanced land conversion projects at the main estates to aid mechanical operations. In the future, the 2026 program will focus on mechanisation and infrastructure development.
The government aims to convert over 3,000 hectares of land to facilitate machine-based harvesting. They will replace three sugar boilers, buy five more cane harvesters, and build a new conveyor system for billet canes at Albion.
Additionally, new sugar dryers will be installed at Rose Hall and Uitvlugt, along with billet cane feeder tables to enhance processing efficiency.
A significant portion of the investment will also go toward expanding value-added production and improving all-weather road access. This will help with the transportation of billet canes and supplies between estates.
Dr Singh noted that these projects are essential to GuySuCo’s broader five-year plan, which aims to transform the corporation into a vibrant agro-industrial hub.
This plan involves changing land use, using modern farming equipment, promoting high-yield sugarcane varieties, partnering with private companies for added-value production, and improving worker skills.
“The long-term strategy is to modernise GuySuCo, strengthen industrial relations, and create higher-skilled job opportunities,” Dr Singh said.5236