CARICOM Backs Belize, Guyana Sugar Refineries

The CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) has backed new sugar refinery projects in Belize and Guyana, saying the investments will “add regional refining capacity and reduce the region’s dependence on external sources.”

Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali paid a three-day high-level visit to Belize on February 1, where he met Prime Minister John Briceño and committed to several memorandums of understanding covering education, tourism, agriculture, national security and digital transformation.

According to CPSO’s statement, CARICOM imported just over US$150 million in refined sugar in 2024, largely from outside the region. The planned refineries are expected to expand regional processing capacity and keep more value within the Caribbean economy.

The Belize refinery, operated by Caribbean Sugar Refinery Limited, will be built at the Santander complex in the Valley of Peace and is expected to start operations before June 2026.

In Guyana, Demerara Sugar Refinery Inc. will be located at the former Wales Estate and will process sugar supplied by GuySuCo using refinery equipment relocated from Canada.

CPSO Chief Executive Officer Dr Patrick Antoine said, “Private capital can only transform regional agriculture into agroindustry, where market certainty and policy coherence exist across CARICOM.”

“The refinery projects, together with expanded sugarcane production, represent a critical shift for the Caribbean sugar and sweetener value chain,” CPSO added.