BUDGET 2025: $13.3 billion to support, further rehabilitate sugar sector

The sugar industry will get further support from the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government with a $13.3 billion allocation in the 2025 National Budget,

This allocation was announced on Friday by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh as he presented the 2025 National Budget.

The mammoth sum will be used to convert more than 3,000 hectares of land to support the ongoing mechanisation venture, acquire new field equipment, rehabilitate field infrastructure, and construct much-needed all-weather roads.

It builds on the $15. 5 billion spent in 2025 to support the industry in various ways such as acquiring new cane harvesters and expanding the Albion Packaging Plan.

The Finance Minister said continued investments in the sugar sector, and government’s support for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), are a testament to the administration’s commitment to revitalising the sector.

“Since returning to office in 2020, this government commenced an intense rebuilding effort to resuscitate and revitalise the operations of the industry and rekindle hope in the sector.,” Dr. Singh posited.

The sugar industry has been a key productive sector for Guyana for decades, still employing thousands of people to date. Supporting the sector has been a key focus of the PPP/C government, often causing it to clash with the political opposition.

Dr. Singh, on Friday, criticised the former APNU+ AFC administration for the “politically- motivated destruction” of the sector while in office from 2015 to 2020.

The former government closed estates at Skeldon and Rose Hall in Berbice, Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara and Wales on the West Bank of Demerara shortly after it was elected to office in 2015.

According to Dr. Singh, those closures brought hardship to about 7,000 direct employees and about 40,000 people indirectly employed.

Beyond investments to support the industry, Dr. Singh also spoke about the economic performance of the sugar sector in 2024 during his budget presentation.

He said the sugar-growing sector is estimated to have contracted by 21.8 per cent last year, with GuySuCo only able to produce about 47,103 metric tonnes of the product. He said the shortfall was attributed to the extended drought and labour shortages within the sector.

Weeks before, Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali expressed dissatisfaction with the 2024 sugar production. And the Head of State said the government expects a much better performance this year, as it is providing the necessary support.

‘Heads will roll’ at GuySuCo if sugar production targets not met in early 2025 – President

He declared, “I’ve read the riot act to the management of GuySuCo.”

Beyond expressing that dissatisfaction clearly, the President said the management team was tasked with ensuring that targets for next year are achieved particularly since investments sought were supported by the government.

“We have supported that investment plan so I made it very clear that if the target for 2025, the first and second crop… if those targets are not achieved heads will roll,” President Ali said in an interview.

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), in October, noted that GuySuCO had only produced 24,711 tonnes of sugar, representing just 39 per cent of its 63,276-tonne target for the year. It was also noted that it would be difficult to lessen that deficit in the remaining cropping period that year.