Former Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Corporate Communications Officer Audreyanna Thomas has issued a detailed refutation of the allegations to recent claims by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Cheong and economist Joel Bhagwandin regarding the industry’s ongoing decline.
Cheong had attributed the poor first crop of 2025 to heavy rainfall, while Bhagwandin blamed the closure of four sugar estates under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration.
But Thomas is pushing back, armed with comparative production figures and a stinging critique of the current government’s performance.
Thomas, in a letter to the editor, highlighted that during the APNU+AFC’s 2016–2020 tenure, GuySuCo underwent a major reorganisation, including the closure of four estates—Wales, East Demerara, Rose Hall, and Skeldon. Yet, during this period, sugar production consistently outpaced the current output under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration.
GuySuCo produced:
- 183,615 tonnes in 2016
- 137,298 tonnes in 2017
- 104,641 tonnes in 2018
- 90,246 tonnes in 2019
- 89,000 tonnes in 2020
The 2021/2022 target stood at 143,000 tonnes.
In stark contrast, under the PPP/C’s stewardship, production has plummeted:
- 58,995 tonnes in 2021
- 58,025 tonnes in 2022
- 60,204 tonnes in 2023
- 47,130 tonnes in 2024
- 15,980 tonnes for the first crop of 2025
Thomas questioned the logic of blaming the industry’s downturn on estate closures nearly a decade ago, especially since production remained higher during the reorganisation itself. She also reminded that although the PPP/C campaigned on a promise to reopen all four shuttered estates, only Rose Hall and Skeldon have resumed operations — and have yet to contribute significantly to national output.
“Under A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change, GuySuCo operated just three estates — Albion, Blairmont, and Uitvlugt — and still produced 104,641 tonnes in 2018; 90,246 in 2019; and 89,000 in 2020,” Thomas said. The former senior officer pointed out that with five estates, including the reopened Rose Hall and Skeldon, production has nosedived.
Refuting the weather excuse, Thomas noted that rainfall is nothing new to Guyana and that GuySuCo has always factored seasonal conditions into its production strategies. Rain fell in 2016 through 2020 too, yet production remained two to three times higher than it is now, she noted.
Thomas further raised red flags over GuySuCo’s dwindling market presence. If the company is producing less than 60,000 tonnes annually, down from 89,000 tonnes in 2020, it can’t possibly be meeting the demands of its traditional regional and international markets, she argued. The same concern applies to molasses, a key by-product and revenue stream.
Calling for urgent accountability, she questioned the rationale of employing 8,000 workers to produce just 15,980 tonnes of sugar in the first five months of 2025. “The government must be more accountable for how they are using our money and managing the economy,” Thomas urged.
Since returning to Government in August 2015 the PPP has injected more than $40 Billion into a failed corporation.
