Guyana to increase sugar production by year end

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) should produce about 60,000 tons of sugar by the end of this year as the government continues to seek help to boost the industry.

This was declared by  President Dr. Irfaan Ali as he spoke in East Coast Demerara (ECD) last Friday.

“It is my understanding that we should be ending this year at 60,000 tons (of sugar) and we’re working towards getting up to 100,000 tons in the new year,” he said.

Ramping up production is attributed to a number of new developments including the reopening of the Rose Hall Estate in Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) later this year.

A new packaging plant at Albion, Region Six, is also slated to open this year.

But Ali also pointed out that one of the substantial challenges gripping the sugar industry is the cultivation of sugarcane.

To remedy this, Guyana is engaging three foreign partners- India, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic- with the aim of getting the scientific help needed to determine the most suitable variety of sugarcane for planting locally.

Those partners, he disclosed, may help Guyana set up a new plant nursery so that the most suitable varieties of the crop will be grown in large enough batches to satisfy local demands.

In the 2023 National Budget, GuySuCO got a multi-billion dollar subvention to support expansion plans. In December, the Parliamentary Committee of Supply approved one billion in supplementary funding for GuySuCo to help with the retooling of sugar estates.

The Irfaan Ali-led government has made it clear that it will be investing heavily in the sugar industry as part of efforts to revive the sugar sector and make the industry lucrative once more.

CMC/