ALBION Gems, the newest brand of sugar launched by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) at the recently concluded Berbice Expo and Trade Fair, has been gaining much traction by locals with a whopping 300 bales (approximately 3,000 packets) being sold at the expo alone.

A product of the Albion Estate, GuySuCo’s largest grinding factory, the latest brand is being promoted with the tagline, “The Bakers’ Choice.”
“Persons who are baking are very selective about their ingredients and we believe that this product will be a good addition; a good baking ingredient,” Marketing and Communications Manager at GuySuCo Trudy Cummings shared during an interview with Guyana Chronicle at the expo.
“The Albion Gems is grown and produced here in Berbice and it’s a sugar that is more of the bakers’ choice; it’s a grade that is really good. The colour is way up there with the ‘Demerara Gold’ (GuySuCo’s premium product) and the other brands that we have,” Cummings continued.
The intention is to have brands of sugar that are synonymous with each estate. Thus, Albion Gems has now joined Enmore Crystals, another brand produced by the Enmore Estate. Brands bearing the names of the other estates may very well come on board in future.

“We found that persons in the community – sugar lovers – they like to know that this is our sugar; it’s more of a product that persons want to identify with and to say this is ours. So we have the Enmore Crystals which was birthed at the Enmore factory and then persons were like, ‘What about Albion? What about Blairmont?” Cummings related.
She noted how the take-up has been very good since the launch of the product and that while it will be available first in Berbice, it will soon find its way to major supermarkets across the country. “What we have found is that there is some amount of pride when persons from the estates see that yes, this is ours. That is why we are very happy to facilitate this.”
Cummings has also disclosed that a good introductory price will be available for Albion Gems which she is advising persons to take full advantage of. At the Berbice expo, three packets (2 kg each) were sold for $1,000.

Despite the dilapidated state of the estates attributed to alleged mismanagement, the government has expressed its dedication to the sugar industry by allocating approximately $4B to GuySuCo in the 2023 Budget for industry growth.

The allocated funds were intended for the commencement of construction at the Albion Packaging Plant and the increase in capacity at the Blairmont Packaging Plant.
The government has been placing emphasis on the restoration of assets and the modernization of estates. The Rose Hall Estate in Canje serves as a prime illustration, as grinding operations were reinstated and around 1,200 previously dismissed workers were subsequently reemployed.