The challenge ahead for GuySuCo is formidable

In his trenchant critique on the direction and operations of GuySuCo, Mr. Samuel Gittens made a startling comment, “The coalition did not fool the workers. It closed down four estates and vowed to dismantle them.” During the 2015 election campaign, in response to PPP/C’s claim that the PNCR-led coalition will close the sugar industry if they win power, the coalition insisted, “sugar is too big to fail,” and if elected, they would offer sugar workers a 20% pay increase. The sugar workers fell for that ruse, and it was their votes at the 2015 polls, along with those of rice farmers (estimated at 11%) that helped to secure the PNCR coalition’s victory. Mr. Gittens continued to raise several other issues. “Is government really interested in rehabilitating GuySuCo?” “Or is the plan to allow it to collapse and then re-distribute the land to friends, families, and cronies?” “Is the CEO retained to guarantee the failure of the company?” Apart from these questions, he stated, “capital money invested in GuySuCo has been squandered; and that money given to some displaced workers is simply to appease them and reduce their wrath as government allows GuySuCo to collapse.” To express deep concerns about the financial viability and future of GuySuCo, including management, is understandable. What is not comprehensible is to assert, at this time, that sugar’s survival is based solely on profits.

While the sugar industry has been going through some difficult years mainly because of the lack of diversification, modernization of plant and operations, plus the dramatic reduction of European Union (EU) pricing by 34%, these negative forces should not allow critics to write-off the industry. There is still a viable market for refined white sugar in CARICOM (estimated 200,000 metric tonnes annually) where Guyana could get as much as $(US) 600 per tonne of sugar. On the question of management, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo assures that it would be strengthened. Food security necessitates that most countries subsidize their agriculture sector of which sugar is a major crop. The Caribbean Development Bank stated (2014): “…it is economically viable for GOGY [Government of Guyana] to continue subsidizing and protecting the cultivation and harvesting of sugar cane and processing of sugar for export and local consumption.” The average annual subsidy to GuySuCo over the period 2011 to 2020 was equivalent to 3.1% of the national annual budget. To subsidize a key sector is considered good public policy (saving 7,000 jobs and livelihood of 35,000 persons) a measure that prevented (prior to 2017)