Agriculture Minister confident of GuySuCo returning to profitable state by 2030

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, today maintained that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will return to a state of profitability by 2030. He held the position while being grilled by Opposition Members of Parliament on the management of the sugar industry as the Parliamentary Committee of Supply examined the $13.4 Billion allocated allocated for GuySuCo in this year’s Budget.

A total of $8.4 Billion of the budgeted sum has been set aside for GuySuCo’s recurrent programme, particularly agriculture development and support services, while the remaining $5 Billion will cover capital projects.

Questioned by APNU Member of Parliament, Vinceroy Jordan, on the use of the $8.4 Billion, the Agriculture Minister told the Committee that 81% of the sum has been budgeted for wages and salaries. The corporation’s wage bill is approximately $20 Billion annually.

“The total wages and salaries for GuySuCo annually is approximately $20 Billion. So, 81 percent of this money [$8.4 Billion], the rest will have to be make up from the sale of sugar,” Minister Mustapha explained.

On hearing the figures, APNU MP Saiku Andrews said at some point the Government must decide if it will continue to subsidize the Sugar Industry. He questioned whether a timeline has been set for GuySuCo to “stand on its own,” and remove its reliance on Government’s subvention annually.

In response, the Agriculture Minister told the Committee that GuySuCo’s five year strategic plan ensures that the sugar industry returns to a state of profitability. Minister Mustapha said “hopefully” the corporation can make a change from this year.

But that response did not sit well with MP Andrews.

“Mr. Chair, I hear the words hope, and yes, we must be hopeful but I think that when we are making decisions with money we have to be strategic and confident, we have to be confident in our plans. So, the question is, how reasonably confident is the minister that the strategic plan for GuySuCo will bear the fruits or be able to attain the goals that it has set out? How reasonably confident are we,” MP Andrews questioned.

Minister Mustapha, in response, said he remains very optimistic.

“Mr. Chair I am very optimistic because what we have in the plan we already start moving in the right direction – over 41 percent of GuySuCo’s cultivation have already been mechanized. In that plan you will see new machinery being bought, in the next five years, you will see planters, and GuSuCo will go full mode – that’s the objective – harvest cane mechanically, that’s the main focus,” he said.

He said GuySuCo is also looking at the performance of Estate Managers with meetings held regularly to ensure that targets are met and the corporation’s strategic plan is a success.

But WIN MP Vishnu Panday, who is a former GuySuCo Executive, told the Committee that after missing its target year after year, GuySuCo would be in no position to meet its wage bill, much less return to profitability, if it does not reach its factory performance.

“In 2024, GuySuCo was asked to produce 100,000 tonnes of sugar; for 2025 again GuySuCo was asked to produce 100,000 tonnes of sugar, a little extra than that; now for 2026 GuySuCo is projecting again to produce 100,000 tonnes of sugar. So, for two years, the production was just hovering around 50 percent. Now for 2026 and this has to do with revenues as the Honourable Minister outlined, for 2026 when I look at your numbers of cane production, it means that you have to crush at the factories, industry wise, 445 hours per week,” MP Panday reasoned.

MP Panday contended that for the past three years, GuySuCo has been grinding sugar at about 300 hours per week, and would therefore need to increase the operating hours by 145, to reach the target of 100,000 tonnes.

But Minister Mustapha said with increased mechanization and recapitalization of the factories, the 2026 target would be met.

That aside, the Committee heard that 5% of the $8.4 Billion will go towards paying lorry contractors. It was noted that the other contractors will be paid using revenues from the sale of sugar. At present, field contractors across GuySuCo are owed $100 million. GuySuCo, according to Minister Mustapha, was unable to pay all of the contractors at the end of December 2025.

The Committee also heard that GuySuCo has approximately $2 Billion in NIS contributions outstanding for a period of two years. MP Jordan pressed the Agriculture Minister on the issue.

“Mr. Chair could the Honorable Minister say how much of this also will go to the NIS because the other complaint is persons would have retired, they approached the National Insurance Scheme, and the scheme informed them that GuySuCo owes NIS, so they cannot get their benefits. In some cases, some who are on sick leave they have the same issue. So, I just want clarification whether they are owing GuySuCo,” MP Jordan told the Committee.

In response, the Agriculture Minister indicated that the budgeted sum does not include funds for the payment of NIS contributions, explaining that those contributions will be paid, hopefully by mid-year, using revenues generated from the sale of sugar. He, however, assured that the workers are not affected by the corporation’s failure to pay their contributions to the Insurance Scheme.