Amid mechanisation push, GuySuCo on track for profitability by 2030 -Mustapha
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Tuesday told the National Assembly that Guyana’s sugar industry is steadily recovering and is projected to return to profitability by 2030, as government ramps up mechanisation, reopens estates and implements a new five-year strategic plan for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
Speaking during the Budget 2026 debates, Mustapha said the sector’s turnaround follows years of decline marked by estate closures and the loss of thousands of jobs, arguing that recent gains are the result of deliberate planning and sustained state investment.
Holding up GuySuCo’s five-year strategic plan, the minister said the document charts a clear path back to profitability, supported by continued funding and operational reforms. He pointed to expanding mechanisation as a key pillar of the recovery, noting that more than 41 per cent of GuySuCo’s agricultural operations are now mechanised, with over 113,000 metric tonnes of cane harvested mechanically.
Mustapha told the House that sugar output has begun to climb, increasing by 26 per cent in 2024 and rising to more than 59,000 tonnes in 2025, compared to just over 47,100 tonnes the year before. He said lands that were previously idle, including some 5,000 hectares at Skeldon, are now back under cultivation.
The minister said these improvements are reflected in Budget 2026, which allocates $13.4 billion to the sugar industry as part of the wider agriculture sector envelope. The funds, he explained, will support further mechanisation, factory upgrades and increased production.
According to Mustapha, significant groundwork has already been laid over the past five years, including the reopening of the Rose Hall Estate and upgrades to field and factory infrastructure at Albion, Blairmont, Rose Hall and Uitvlugt, moves he said helped stabilise communities that were hard hit by the industry’s collapse.
However, the minister’s presentation came amid a sharp exchange with Opposition Parliamentarian Vishnu Panday, GuySuCo’s former Agriculture Director, who criticised the corporation’s performance and blamed its challenges on mismanagement. Panday argued that political loyalty, rather than competence, guided appointments within the industry.
Mustapha rejected those claims, saying Panday’s tenure failed to deliver results.
“Although he spoke at length on sugar, he cannot defend his record,” the minister said, adding that Panday’s contract was not renewed after he was unable to increase production across several estates or plant cane at Skeldon.
Framing the sugar allocations as part of a broader social commitment, Mustapha told the House that the industry’s revival is about more than production figures. He described the budget as a “contract with the people,” aimed at restoring jobs, livelihoods and stability in traditional sugar belt communities.
He challenged the opposition to support the sector’s recovery, insisting that GuySuCo’s turnaround is already underway and remains central to Guyana’s long-term agricultural sustainability.
