GuySuCo’s future is being built, not buried

Jun 16, 2025 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – It’s always fascinating when self-appointed experts feel compelled to recycle the same tired narrative for over fifteen years without allowing themselves to evolve alongside the industry they critique. Mr. Lalbachan Christopher Ram’s letter, “Sugar Dreams and Capital Nightmares,” reads less like an analysis and more like a theatrical performance: dramatic, disjointed, and immersed in nostalgia for a time when accountability was optional and deflection fashionable.

Let’s be clear: I did not inherit a fairy tale when I assumed leadership of GuySuCo. I inherited a sector battered physically, financially, and emotionally by reckless estate closures and infrastructural vandalism under the APNU/AFC administration. These estates were not merely shuttered; they were gutted. Yet somehow, the same voices that cheered their closure now mourn the painstaking process of rebuilding. But I remain resolute as a patriotic Guyanese in my commitment to restoring the sugar industry. It’s a promise I’ve made not only to the leadership of this country but also to myself.

My friend Lalbachan Ram suggests that I lack the experience to lead. Normally, I’m not one to trumpet my own record, but since he raised the matter, let’s talk facts:

• I’ve been involved in the sugarcane industry, including serving as one of the largest cane farmers in my time, as well as in administration and decision-making for over 35 years. I’ve sat on the GuySuCo Board of Directors under both PPP and APNU governments.
• I’ve operated successful medium-to-large scale farms in cattle, poultry, rice and other crop production—real, hands-in-the-soil agriculture that some may scoff at, but which teaches lessons no classroom can replicate.
• I have also served as an executive on the La-Retraite/Stanleytown Cane Farmers Marketing Co-op Society since 2013- the largest cane farmers society that has ever existed in Guyana.
• At the Private Sector Commission (PSC), during my tenure, the corporate membership of the PSC was doubled,
• Operationalised four new regional business chambers,
• Resuscitated four non-operational Business Service Organisations.
• Tripled the PSC’s net earnings in just 2 years (2021-2023)

I also led Guyana’s largest ever business delegation to Barbados Agrofest, opened new market access through Barbados and Suriname, and helped develop the Local Content Act that now protects our business landscape. If that sounds like failure, I’d love to see Mr Ram’s definition of success.

I noted my friend Lalbachan’s attempted hits on my current leadership at GuySuCo (June 2024 to now), so let’s talk sugar. First Crop 2025 was indeed below projections, but blaming that on “bad leadership” instead of 53% rain-affected days, with Berbice recording 212% above average rainfall, is like blaming an umbrella for the weather. Our decision to continue harvesting at Albion wasn’t made “on a whim” but to save the next crop and mitigate deeper financial losses. That’s called leadership, not whimsy.

The G$13 billion “black hole”? False. Mr. Ram would know that not only are our accounts audited and subject to parliamentary oversight, but as of the end of First Crop, only a portion of that allocation has been spent. So much for the sensationalism.

As for “ill-considered machinery,” to which he alludes, downtime across our factories fell by 22% and cane yields rose by 11 %. Meanwhile, we’re moving toward predictive maintenance, automation, and drone-assisted field monitoring, all of which are tangible, measurable improvements. That’s more than can be said for Mr. Ram’s unsubstantiated claims.

On labour: the industry, like others globally, faces shortages. Yet GuySuCo pays among the highest cane-harvesting wages in the global sugar industry. That’s not a Paul Cheong problem—it’s a demographic trend. Our response is mechanization, not mourning.

Marketing? Outdated again. GuySuCo is now fetching higher-than-quoted prices and is actively diversifying its product base —with value-added packaging lines, expanded mini-packs, and a strategic focus on North American markets. We’re no longer trying to compete by volume alone—we’re competing on value.

Mr. Ram and fellow GuySuCo critics, let’s get real. Transformation doesn’t come with wishful thinking or grandstanding in newspapers. It comes from hard work, modern strategy, and resilience. And while my friend Lalbachan pontificates about “square pegs,” I’m busy training factory staff, rebuilding broken systems, and installing modern equipment that should’ve been here years ago—if only we had the foresight then that we’re applying now.

Constructive criticism is welcome. But when critique starts sounding like a political monologue with a thesaurus, it’s hard to take seriously. I’m not here for applause, I’m here for progress. And even if Mr. Ram can’t see it through the fog of his own metaphors, GuySuCo’s future is being built, not buried.

Sincerely,

Paul Cheong

CEO- The Guyana Sugar Corporation

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• Christopher Ram, Guyana Sugar, GUYSUCO, Paul Cheong

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