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WIN promises to revive struggling sugar industry
…rules out closure of estates
WIN presidential candidate Azruddin Mohamed
Kaieteur News – We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) presidential candidate Azruddin Mohamed has declared in his party’s manifesto that under a WIN-led government, no sugar estate will be closed.
Instead, the party pledges to revitalise and improve the sugar sector, which has faced significant challenges over the years. The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has long struggled with underperformance. Despite the government pumping billions of dollars into the corporation, it fails continually to meet targets and, more so, become profitable. Currently, only three estates-Albion, Blairmont, and Uitvlugt/Leonora remain operational, while Skeldon, Wales, Enmore, and Rose Hall have been closed.
WIN’s manifesto promises not only to keep existing estates open, but also to assist sugar farmers in making sugar production more profitable. “Sugar has been a bedrock of the Guyanese economy and a major contributor to our GDP during its most viable years,” the WIN manifesto states.
It acknowledges, however, that the industry has been suffering by declining global sugar prices, reduced competitiveness, the rising cost of production, and the shift toward sugar substitutes. In response, the party promises to implement mechanisation and diversification to safeguard workers’ livelihoods and reverse the industry’s decline.
To develop the sugar industry, WIN proposes revising the National Cane Farming Committee Act of 1965, increasing sugar workers’ wages, and adopt and implement full mechanisation of the industry. As part of its efforts to ensure high-quality sugar production, WIN plans to replace outdated machinery in the sugar factories with more modern equipment, as well as utilising agricultural lands efficiently by providing subsidised land for sugar workers to work the land.
Additionally, the party promises to establish a backend refinery for Albion estate and introduce energy-efficient technology. It also aims to reconfigure Rose Hall as a sugar by-product centre, and provide land to the tillers as a constitutional guarantee.
In a bold initiative, the WIN party proposes to implement a programme that will gradually lease or transfer at least 10 per cent of cane lands to interested cane farming groups, under the oversight of the National Cane Farming Committee (NCFC).
The party also plans to conduct feasibility studies to assess land suitability and market demand for alternative crop farming. Additionally, it intends to offer incentives, grants, and tax cuts to encourage investment in crop diversification.
Meanwhile, the two other major parties, the PPP/C and the APNU, have focused their plans for the sugar estates and production on diversifying GuySuCo beyond sugar and its by-products, including ventures into other crop cultivation and housing development.
The APNU, led by presidential candidate Aubrey Norton, has proposed reducing GuySuCo’s reliance on sugar and repurposing its resources for economic activities like agriculture and house construction. Norton stated during a recent interview on GlobeSpan24x7, that GuySuCo needs to be restructured to stand on its own without subsidies. He emphasised using the corporation’s land and skills to create new opportunities for economic activity beyond sugar. “We have to relook at GuySuCo, diversify GuySuCo in terms of agriculture. Use the lands of GuySuCo to ensure that there is economic activity for people in this society. We have also said that GuySuCo has the skills that we can utilise to even put into house construction. Our aim is to make GuySuCo a viable institution, it will still do some sugar but it has to diversify and work towards removing the subsidies,” he said.
Meanwhile, the PPP/C government, led by President Irfaan Ali, has already announced plans to diversify GuySuCo’s operations to include crops like rice, corn, and cassava. At the 77th anniversary of the Enmore Martyrs, Ali emphasised the need to reimagine GuySuCo as a hub of rural economic development. He highlighted GuySuCo’s potential in livestock, agro-processing, engineering, and extension services. “Why must its mandate stop only at sugar? GuySuCo can and must become a hub of rural economic development,” the president said.”
The government also plans to co-invest with sugar workers in new ventures and convert 3,000 additional hectares of land for mechanisation in 2025, building on the 5,000 hectares already converted.
However, the president’s proposal to diversify the sugar company comes as GuySuCo continues to operate at a loss. The APNU+AFC administration had closed four major sugar estates – Skeldon, Wales, Enmore and Rose Hall, citing unsustainable operations and poor cash flow. In opposition, the PPP/C had vowed to revive the industry, and upon returning to power, they injected billions of dollars into the sector. However, profitability remains subtle.
In the 2025 national budget, the government allocated $13 billion to GuySuCo. Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh projected that the sugar sector would grow by 115.4 per cent this year, with a target of producing 101,000 metric tonnes. His prediction was made following another decline in sugar production in 2024.
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Guyana sugar estates are no longer competitive and beating a dead horse will not make it run faster. No government in Guyana, existing or new will make sugar profitable even if the industry mechanizes. One or all three of the existing sugar estates should be sold to Demerara Distilleries Limited (DDL) that knows how to manage a business. DDL needs molasses and will decide how many of the sugar estates to keep in operation.. They will make the amount of molasses they need and probably produce sugar for local consumption too. If WIN forms the new government, their plan for the sugar industry will fail miserably like their predecessors…