Latest update September 17th, 2026 10:25 AM
Sugar prices crash 19.2% as global supply swells
…$8.9B spent on industry so far in 2026
(Kaieteur News) – Global sugar prices plunged by 19.2 per cent during the first half of 2026, largely due to surplus production in Brazil and India, the government’s 2026 Mid-Year Report has revealed.
“Sugar prices averaged US$0.32 per kilogramme, decreasing by 19.2 percent when compared with the average in the first half of 2025, largely reflecting surplus production in Brazil and India,” the report stated.
It said sugar prices are expected to average US$0.35 per kilogramme for the year, marginally below the US$0.37 per kilogramme recorded in 2025.
Meanwhile, the government has spent $8.9 billion of the $13.4 billion allocated in this year’s budget for the resuscitation and operation of the sugar estates.
The allocation is aimed at improving yields, expanding production and reducing production costs, while also supporting industry diversification, job creation and the economies of communities surrounding the estates.
During the review period, government investments in field operations resulted in 696 hectares of land being converted for mechanised harvesting. A further 2,543 hectares are expected to be converted during the second half of the year.
The investments also included the procurement of drainage tubes to facilitate land conversion, along with four mechanical harvesters, four cane haulage trailers and two trucks to improve harvesting efficiency and the transportation of cane to factories.
Upgrades were also made to factory operations to improve sugar quality, including the replacement of sugar-processing equipment with stainless steel components.
These upgrades are currently ongoing at the Albion and Blairmont factories. Procurement is also underway for additional dryers for the Rose Hall and Uitvlugt factories, a conveyor system for billet cane at Albion and billet cane feeder tables.
The report said other initiatives aimed at improving sugarcane quality include the propagation of high-yielding varieties, importation of improved germplasm materials, a revision of the fertiliser policy to increase potassium in fertiliser dosages, and the use of multispectral drones to detect nutrient deficiencies in cane plants.
Continued investments in value-added interventions resulted in the production of 2,630 tonnes of packaged Demerara Gold sugar and one tonne of Demerara Gold sugar sticks during the first half of the year.
For the second half of 2026, Albion Estate is scheduled to have cane unloader equipment installed to ensure a consistent, efficient and clean flow of billet cane from trucks for milling. Construction of a new feeder table is also expected to commence.
At Rose Hall Estate, a reverse-rotation knife is scheduled to be installed to increase juice extraction, while Albion and Blairmont are expected to acquire two turbo filters to improve the purity of the sugar produced.
Despite challenges during the first crop, the sugar-growing subsector is estimated to have expanded by 19.3 per cent compared with the first half of 2025.
Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) produced 19,031 tonnes of sugar during the first crop of 2026, with production affected by heavy rainfall that disrupted harvesting and factory operations.
The report said these challenges were compounded by labour shortages and poor cane quality.
As in previous years, the first crop is the smaller of the two, with the industry’s full-year performance expected to be driven by the second crop.
Based on the first-crop performance, growth in the sugar sector is now projected at 18.1 per cent for 2026, with a revised production target of 70,401 tonnes of sugar.
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