Gopaul said that water damaged several cultivation areas, in some instances 2-3 feet of plants, and this resulted in a setback in the production. He also pointed to the problem of an inadequate cane supply in the industry as impacting on the numbers recorded for the first crop.
The sugar production target for this year has been set at 290,000 tonnes; a target he said is still possible if the plan for the second crop is executed effectively.
“You cannot get sugar moving without the canes to the factory and when you stop and start the factory you lose in the yield, juice extraction and you lose in the quality of production… we are hoping we will have all these areas sorted out,” he stated.
Gopaul stressed that the focus is now on the second crop and “making up for the losses”, but pointed out that what has happened in the first few months of the year may pose some problems in the industry.
His comments came in response to a question posed during a press briefing yesterday at the Ministry of Agriculture.
GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer Errol Hanoman told reporters yesterday that a “strong thread of optimism” currently permeates the industry, and productivity is likely to improve in the months ahead.
He said that there is a lot of training and focus being placed on cane cultivation, adding that the trend is now on moving in the right direction.
Gopaul identified the major problem currently facing the industry as the supply of canes to all the factories, but also factored in unpredictable weather conditions. He disclosed that they have received a recent request from persons interested in developing the Skeldon operation for 2,000 acres of land. He added these are farmers who claim to have the capacity to plant.
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, speaking on the same issue, underscored that cane cultivation must be accelerated. He said GuySuCo is working along with the private cane farmers, but the company is also bringing in private contractors to expedite the land preparation activities. According to him persons with land tilling and land prep equipment are being drafted in.
Persaud said that the opportunity days in the industry have contracted from 125 to 60, adding that there is now a need to double both the cultivation at Skeldon and by private farmers.
“We need to meet the timeline for the supply of cane that is where the challenge lies. There is now a working factory,” the minister said.
Persaud said some persons who have already been allocated land to farm sugarcane have not been moving at the desired pace. He said the land will revert to the state for reallocation if persons failed to start planting.
“No one is going to sit on the land and not utilise it when we already have requests and we also do not enough land to give everyone… we do not have land that is free,” he said.
Skeldon factory
Persaud commented briefly on the Skeldon factory saying that it is expected to be commissioned shortly since a date has been set. He said that the factory is still under a period of warranty, and the Chinese contractors are still there since a few things still need to be adjusted.
He stressed that the factory is in full operation, but work is currently taking place to prepare it for the second crop.
He said government is still negotiating remuneration with the Chinese contractors given the delay in the startup of the Skeldon project.
