President Irfaan Ali has warned that management changes will be implemented across Guyana’s sugar estates if production targets continue to be missed, following another year of underperformance by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). The warning was issued after the President met with GuySuCo’s board and senior management, where he expressed dissatisfaction with estate-level performance and the failure to meet the 2025 output goal.
GuySuCo closed 2025 with sugar production of approximately 59,200 metric tonnes, falling short of its revised target of 60,000 tonnes. That target had already been lowered after earlier projections proved unattainable, continuing a pattern in which production goals are repeatedly adjusted downward to align with declining output. Despite this, the government has continued to inject billions of dollars annually into the corporation to sustain operations, a situation analysts describe as evidence of a chronic structural problem rather than a one-off setback.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, President Ali said that “beginning with the first crop of 2026, estates that fail to meet their targets will see changes,” signalling a tougher stance on accountability within the industry. He later reiterated those remarks during an outreach in Region Six, stressing that continued state investment must be matched by measurable results.
“Sugar is an important part of the economy here in Region Six, and we’re going to continue to invest, but we have to get the return on our investment,” the President said, pointing specifically to Albion and Rose Hall as estates that must significantly improve output if the industry is to stabilise.
The President’s comments follow earlier assurances in November that GuySuCo would enter a new phase of accountability, modernisation, and performance-based management. He also echoed long-standing concerns raised by former estate manager Vishnu Panday and others, who have attributed the sector’s persistent decline to entrenched mismanagement and weak operational oversight.
Ali warned that practices he described as being “disguised by class talk and fanciful language” would no longer be tolerated as the industry undergoes restructuring. He announced plans to bring in international technical expertise to improve efficiency and operations, while also deepening engagement with private cane farmers as part of a broader recovery strategy.
Observers note, however, that even as targets are scaled down and public funds continue to be poured into GuySuCo, the corporation has struggled to meet even its reduced benchmarks. They argue that without fundamental reform, future targets may again have to be significantly lowered, raising renewed questions about the long-term viability of the sugar industry and the sustainability of ongoing state support.
Analysts further point to the industry’s long-term decline under successive People’s Progressive Party administrations. A 2021 International Labour Organisation (ILO) study found that when the PPP/C assumed office in October 1992, GuySuCo employed 28,081 workers. By August 2020, the same study showed that 11,154 sugar workers had lost their jobs under PPP governments, compared with 325 under the People’s National Congress and 5,160 under the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition. For many observers, these figures underscore concerns that decades of policy missteps, political interference, and weak management have contributed to the erosion of the sugar industry, making renewed warnings of accountability appear disconnected from the historical record.
