HGP NIGHTLY NEWS – Former Finance Minister Winston Jordan says Guyana should have exited the sugar business years ago, arguing that the industry has historically survived on preferential prices and government support rather than its ability to compete internationally.
Speaking on News Source, Sources on Sunday, Jordan said the preferential prices Guyana once received for sugar exported to Europe played a major role in keeping the industry afloat.
“Without the European price, we should have been out of the business of sugar a long time ago,” Jordan said. He argued that sugar, like rice, has struggled to remain competitive without secured international markets or favourable prices.
According to Jordan, the loss of those preferential conditions left the industry increasingly dependent on government support, including expenditure on drainage and irrigation and other subsidies.
Jordan said efforts to make the industry competitive under current conditions will be difficult, particularly as substantial public resources continue to be injected into sugar without the level of production he believes should accompany that spending.
He contended that the government will eventually have to confront the question of whether maintaining the industry in its current form remains financially sustainable.
“Sooner than later, as we can see already with the massive resources that sugar has got without any return, a decision is going to have to be made, politically painful as it would be,” he said.
Jordan defended the former APNU+AFC administration’s decision to reduce the size of the industry, saying its approach was intended to concentrate operations on the three most productive estates and eventually achieve annual production of approximately 150,000 tonnes.
That restructuring resulted in the closure or reduction of operations at several estates and the retrenchment of thousands of workers. Jordan maintained that the plan could have placed the industry on a more sustainable footing within approximately five years.
He argued that reopening estates has since required significant spending without delivering a corresponding increase in production.The former finance minister said the latest production figures should therefore be considered alongside the amount of public money being committed to keeping the industry operating.
Jordan maintained that, despite having significantly more financial resources available today, Guyana’s sugar output remains below the levels the former administration had targeted for a smaller industry.
