Sugar prices sweeter but GuySuCo braces for ‘brutal’ hike in fertiliser costs

The cost of sugar, like other goods, has increased on the international market but the cash-strapped Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is balancing these increased prices for its sugar with the hike in input costs.

Sasenarine Singh, GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer, told the News Room that the corporation recently started getting about US $700 per metric tonne of sugar compared to a price of about US $320 per metric tonne in 2020.

Though the cost of sugar has nearly doubled on the international market, the cost to produce the sugar has increased too. In fact, the CEO described the increased costs, particularly the four products used to make fertilisers, as particularly “brutal.”

“Over just a six month period, those four products went up 115%. Our agro-chemicals went up 76%.

“It blew all the budgets,” Singh lamented.

The increased cost of fuel has also troubled the company.

Global price hikes, owing to supply-chain challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently, the Ukraine-Russia war, have driven up the cost of goods. The CEO, however, noted that GuySuCo purchased most of the fertilisers it needs for this year ahead of the war; as such, the organisation was able to avoid some of the hiked costs.

“We were able to have enough in our bond to take us to September (but) now, we are looking at what to do but we know we are looking at a no-win game,” Singh said.

Additionally, Singh said that the increased revenues from the higher price of sugar internationally have not yet “kicked in.”

The corporation is, however, expecting those higher prices to remain for at least the rest of 2022.

While the corporation braces for financial challenges towards the latter half of the year, Singh said the focus remains on ensuring that there is “prudent financial management” to avoid wastages.

The corporation is also moving ahead with modernisation efforts, geared at returning GuySuCo back to profitability.