$13.4B allocated in 2026 Budget to modernise, expand GuySuCo

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, in presenting the 2026 National Budget, outlined significant investments and plans to restore the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to financial viability and long-term sustainability. Addressing the National Assembly, Dr Singh highlighted that over the past five years, Government efforts have focused on reviving the sugar industry, including reopening the Rose Hall Estate and upgrading infrastructure at Albion, Blairmont, Rose Hall and Uitvlugt estates. These initiatives, he said, have revitalised local rural economies and transformed the sector, which now employs over 8,300 persons. “Restoring GuySuCo to financial viability and long-term sustainability remains a priority for Government,” Dr Singh stated. “We also remodeled the marketing and sales mix from bulk sugar to higher-value products and provided direct economic support to over 5,200 severed workers.” In 2025, the Albion packaging plant began operations, and essential machinery, including two mechanical harvesters, was procured to improve factory operations across estates. Works were also undertaken to rehabilitate over 100 cane punts, the Blairmont wharf, rotary sugar dryer drums, billet cane yards, and more than five kilometres (km) of access roads. Efforts also continued on converting lands at Albion, Blairmont, Rose Hall and Uitvlugt for mechanised planting and harvesting. Looking ahead, the Government plans to continue mechanising field operations, improve mechanical planting and harvesting, modernise factories, promote high-yielding cane varieties and expand value-added production in partnership with the private sector. Improving worker, union and management relations and transitioning workers to higher-skilled roles are also central to the strategy, which aims to transform GuySuCo into an agro-industrial hub for rural economic development. For 2026, over 3,000 hectares are targeted for conversion to mechanised harvesting. Planned investments include replacing three sugar boilers, procuring five cane harvesters, constructing a conveyor system for billet canes at Albion, installing additional sugar dryers at Rose Hall and Uitvlugt, expanding value-added production and improving all-weather road access for cane transportation. Dr Singh noted that $13.3 billion was spent on the sector in 2025, with $13.4 billion allocated in the 2026 budget to support these initiatives. The 2026 plans signal a continued Government commitment to strengthening GuySuCo, modernising the sugar industry and promoting sustainable economic development in rural communities.