President Irfaan Ali has again threatened to shake up the management of the Guyana Sugar Corporation, if the state-owned company continues to under perform.

The President declared that there will be management changes at GuySuCo next year if operational changes are not seen.

Last year, Guysuco’s performance was the worst in the entity’s history producing a mere 47,000 metric tonnes of sugar.

For this year, it had set a target of about 80,000 metric tonnes and so far for the year the company has produced about 50,000 metric tonnes.

Speaking at the opening of the GuyExpo last night, the President said while the sugar industry is showing signs of a turnaround, that turnaround is not matching the billions being invested by the Government into the industry.

“Sugar is far from where we want it to be, but we are seeing signs of recovery not at the pace at which we want that recovery. Let me be very clear, if the managers in GUYSUCO can’t deliver to by next year from the investments we are putting in GUYSUCO, we will have to find a new management system to give us the type of results that we are investing to get,” the President noted.

The Government has invested more than $30 Billion in Guysuco since 2020, and is set to announce further support for the industry.

Currently sugar is being produced at US$1.31 per pound and is being sold at US$0.35 cents per pound.

But the government is adamant that it can turnaround the industry. The President said other interventions for the sugar industry will also be announced.

“There is no shortcut, I want to be clear, we must get the results we are investing for, we must get the productivity we are investing for and while sugar is not yet out of the woods, I am very pleased to learn of a partnership that will see local and international investors coming together and will invest in a sugar refinery here in Guyana and that project is earmarked to be announced before the end of this year,” the President stated.

The sugar industry, which has been on a downward slope since 2006, has been bugged by administrative, technical, financial and human resource problems.

But the President said with the technical support that the government will be bringing in for Guysuco, its production numbers should be better.

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