GUYANA-Guyana recorded a shortfall in sugar production in 2024

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, says sugar production fell by approximately 21% in 2024,

Speaking with reporters earlier this week, he said a significant management shakeup will occur in 2025 if the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) does not get its act together and ramp up production in the new year.

Initially, GuySuCo had anticipated that sugar production would have ranged between 60,000 and 70,000 tons by the end of the year. The Agriculture Minister had predicted that GuySuCo would have produced as much as 100,000 tons of sugar.

But 12 months later, after billions of dollars in investment, the Agriculture Minister admitted a disappointing year for the sugar company.

“The sugar production is just over 47,000 tons. They would have had a shortfall of about almost more 21%,” he said.

Expressing his dissatisfaction, Mustapha said that from the first crop, the Government knew that production would have fallen below the target.

GuySuCo produced 7,000 tons of sugar during the first crop, as opposed to the projected 16,000 tons.

Mustapha said the shortfall was due to several factors, including stunted sugarcane growth and poor weather.

He also reiterated President Irfaan Ali’s earlier statements that a management shakeup will take place in the New Year if GuySuCo fails to meet its production target.

“In the new year, we will see some changes in the management of GuySuCo at various estates; they are already contemplating moving managers. Some managers will come out of the system,” he said.

He said the Government is dissatisfied with GuySuCo’s performance and will have to take drastic action.

Mustapha said it is essential for GuySuCo to reduce production costs while increasing production.

“We want GuySuCo to ensure that they reduced their cost of production and achieved their target. That is why we have brought in technical support. We have technical expertise from India and Cuba working along with GuySuCo,” he said.

According to him, GuySuCo has assured the Government that it will accelerate its mechanization program.

Currently, 40% of its land has been converted as part of its mechanization program, intended to enhance its operation and production.

At the start of the year, GuySuCo received a subvention of GUY$6 Billion. He said that since then, it has received billions more in supplementary funding, but its performance remains dismal.

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