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GuySuCo hit by labour shortage
…as cane cutters abandon industry for better jobs
Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation, Paul Cheong
Kaieteur News – Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation, Paul Cheong has disclosed that over the past five years, the corporation has recorded a steady decline in the number of harvesters reporting to the fields, a trend that has serious implications for productivity. And he admitted that Guyanese have virtually abandoned the industry with the younger generation increasingly opting for jobs outside of traditional field work, while others pursuing education and training in new industries.
The ailing sugar corporation has, over the years seen a continuous decline in performance in terms of production but has seen billions of dollars from the nation’s coffers being plugged annually into the industry. Back in 2017 the Coalition Government had unveiled what it termed a ‘State Paper on the Future of the Sugar Industry’, which it then said would focus on the poorly-performing estates and have them shift from sugar to diversification. The plan was to amalgamate Wales Estate with Uitvlugt Estate and reassign its cane to the Uitvlugt factory, since the estate is operating at 50 percent capacity. Sixty percent of its drainage and irrigation infrastructure is in a dilapidated condition.
The corporation furthermore seeks to divest itself of the Skeldon Estate. The estates of Albion and Rose Hall were to be amalgamated and the factory at Rose Hall is to be closed.” The Coalition had said that the industry would then consist of three estates and three sugar factories. The estates would be Blairmont on the West Bank Berbice, Albion-Rose Hall in East Berbice and the Uitvlugt-Wales estate in West Demerara. The three estates will be complete with factories and will have cane supplied from all five locations. By virtue of the amalgamation, the Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) and Rose Hall, Berbice factories were to be closed. The PPP/C had criticised the move and made a central theme of its 2020 elections campaign to reopen all of the shuttered estates.
However, five years after being in office, the government has not been able to turnaround the industry and recently President Irfaan Ali spoke about plans to diversify the operations of the corporation.
Meanwhile, in a letter to the press, Cheong said in the first crop of 2022, 2147 harvesters were on roll with 55% attendance- an average of 1,181 working daily, however by the first crop of 2025, though 1,990 harvesters were registered, attendance dropped to 50%, with just 995 workers turning out.
“This downward trend in field turnout reflects a deeper shift in Guyana’s labour market, not one caused by poor wages, but by a wider transformation in the country’s economy,” Cheong said. He reasoned that this phenomenon is not peculiar to GuySuCo, nor is it isolated to the sugar sector. “Across Guyana, employers in construction, hospitality, agriculture, retail, and even government are grappling with workforce shortages. This is a reflection of the broader economic transformation currently taking place in the country. As Guyana continues to experience rapid development and expanded opportunities, especially due to the growing oil and gas sector, the labour landscape has shifted significantly,” Cheong claimed.
He said according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), labour shortages in agriculture have become a global issue. “In both developed and developing countries, rural outmigration, aging populations, and changing employment preferences have contributed to a sharp decline in available farm labour.” Cheong said a 2023 FAO report noted that countries from India to Brazil and from Thailand to South Africa are reporting critical gaps in harvesting labour, especially for crops like sugarcane that are labour-intensive and seasonal in nature.
“Against this backdrop, it is important to address a common misconception that wages are the main reason workers are not taking up harvesting jobs. In fact, Guyana is among the highest paying countries for sugarcane harvesters. At GuySuCo, cane harvesters average earning ranges from US$19 to US$25 per day. This is higher than daily wages for similar work in many sugar-producing countries, including India and parts of Latin America.”
The GuySuCo CEO said, FAO data indicate that average wages for sugarcane harvesters in India fall between US$4 and US$7 per day, while in Brazil, one of the world’s largest producers, the average ranges from US$12 to US$25 per day depending on region and experience. “Therefore, the issue isn’t one of compensation, but rather availability and interest. The demand for labour in Guyana has increased across all sectors, and younger generations are increasingly opting for jobs outside of traditional field work. Many are pursuing education and training in new industries, and others are seeking opportunities in urban and offshore employment.”
Cheong said this new reality requires “us to think differently. While GuySuCo continues to support and value its human workforce, we are also advancing our mechanization programme to ease dependency on manual labour. The introduction of harvesting machines and other technologies can help us mitigate the impact of low field turnout and ensure that we maintain consistent cane supply to our factories.”
Noting that sugar remains a vital part of Guyana’s heritage and economy, Cheong admitted to sustain this industry, “we must embrace both the challenges and the opportunities presented by today’s labour realities. The path forward lies in adapting through technology, efficiency, and closer collaboration with workers, communities, and stakeholders.”
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Over the past 3 years I’ve talked about my plans to revive the Guyana sugar industry. It entails restoring the 12 miles of high-level irrigation canals and 49 miles of drains per acre of cultivation. This is a prerequisite because of the “heavy” Amazonian silt on which cane is grown. The interstitial soil spaces are filled with salt water. This saline water needs to be leached out. It is for this reason that the cane fields were flooded for 2-3 days mid crop then that water drained into the saline (silane). The presence of sea salt in the salt STUNTS the growth of cane.