Guyana, Belize to satisfy CARICOM’s refined sugar demand

Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 December 2025, 19:36 by Writer

The United States-based SUCRO (Sucro Sourcing) has entered into a joint venture agreement with businessmen in Belize and Guyana to construct two sugar refineries in both CARICOM nations poised to satisfy the region’s demand for refined cane sugar, officials said Tuesday.

Finance minister Dr Ashni Singh said the refineries, when completed, would supply all of the region’s annual refined sugar needs totalling 200,000 tonnes and valued at at least US$180 million.

SUCRO also operates in Canada.

The joint venture, Demerara Sugar Refinery Inc, will construct a refinery next year at Wales, West Bank Demerara.

The signing ceremony follows closely on the heels of a similar accord in September between SUCRO and Santander Sugar Limited (SSL), a leading Belizean sugar mill, to form the joint venture, Caribbean Sugar Refinery (CSR) Limited.

Demerara Sugar Refinery Inc’s (DSR) director, Komal Singh said the establishment of a refinery in Guyana would help to revive the ailing Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) whose production has plummeted in recent times. “We’re very proud to be working very closely with GuySuCo to see how we can work with them to help them increase their productivity, taking the excess sugar that we have and refine it to value added to has a massive demand on the world market,” he said.

GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Cheong stated briefly that the new private sector joint venture would be good for the sugar industry.”We’re working hard to get GuySuCo back on track and we’re getting there,” he said.

Officials said at least 40 percent of the state-owned sugar industry’s operations is mechanised.

SUCRO’s Vice President and Head Trader, Oliver Hire said the raw sugar will be shipped by trucks to the refinery after which CSR will distribute and sell the sweetener to CARICOM through its hub in Trinidad. “We’re leveraging Guyana’s geographical position to provide some pretty good coverage right across CARICOM,” he said.

Mr Hire said the operation would be “rooted” in GuySuCo’s 8,000 workers.

He forecast that DSR would generate profits which would directly incentivise production.

He said Guyana would not have to rely on falling world prices for brown sugar.

Mr Singh added that when the DSR begins operations in late 2026, it will utilise all the available rice husk to generate electricity, and reduce dust pollution. “That, in our view, will be a very good thing for the environment,” he said.