The government has allocated $13.4 billion in the 2026 budget to continue the transformation of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), according to Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.
In his 2026 budget presentation to the National Assembly on Monday, Dr Singh said restoring GuySuCo to financial viability and long-term sustainability remains a priority, as the government advances a programme of mechanisation, factory modernisation and value-added production across the sugar industry.
Over the past five years, the PPP/C government has reopened the Rose Hall Estate and upgraded field and factory infrastructure at Albion, Blairmont, Rose Hall and Uitvlugt, actions which Dr Singh said helped to revitalise rural communities previously impacted by the industry’s decline.
As part of the restructuring effort, GuySuCo shifted its marketing and sales focus from bulk sugar to higher-value products, while direct economic support was provided to more than 5,200 severed workers. The sector currently employs over 8,300 persons.
For 2026, more than 3,000 hectares of land are targeted for conversion to support mechanised harvesting. Additional initiatives include the replacement of three sugar boilers, procurement of five cane harvesters, construction of a billet cane conveyor system at Albion, acquisition of additional sugar dryers for Rose Hall and Uitvlugt, installation of billet cane feeder tables, expansion of value-added production, and improvements to all-weather road access for efficient cane transport.
Dr Singh also noted that $13.3 billion was spent in the sugar sector in 2025, as the government continues to invest in the industry’s long-term sustainability.
In 2025, the Albion packaging plant commenced operations, and essential machinery and equipment were procured to improve factory performance, including two mechanical harvesters. Rehabilitation works were carried out on over 100 cane punts, the Blairmont wharf, rotary sugar dryer drums, billet cane yards, and more than five kilometres of access roads.
Work also progressed on the conversion of lands at Albion, Blairmont, Rose Hall and Uitvlugt to support mechanised planting and harvesting.
Dr Singh outlined a five-year strategy focused on expanding mechanised field operations, improving mechanical planting and harvesting, modernising factories, promoting high-yielding and high-value cane varieties, and increasing value-added production, including with private sector participation.
The strategy also includes strengthening worker, union and management relations, transitioning workers to higher-skilled roles, and ultimately transforming GuySuCo into an agro-industrial hub for rural economic development, as outlined in the PPP/C’s 2025 manifesto.