With production numbers holding strong and exceeding 10,000 tonnes of sugar for the fourth consecutive week GuySuCo is projecting that it will likely meet its second crop target.
Several estates have recorded positive gains, the company said, citing strong production numbers at Albion, Blairmont, Enmore, Rose Hall and Wales. Employees at the estates named earned an additional day’s pay for exceeding their target for the week.
GuySuCo said the recent production trend was last realized in mid-2000 and quoted Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Errol Hanoman in a press statement on Tuesday as saying it is a tangible milestone. Hanoman said also the company is accelerating its drive towards a sustained improvement in overall production and he cited workers and management’s high morale, as a significant factor in achieving the target.
The sugar corporation is coming off one of its lowest production years in 2008 and $4.1 billion in recorded losses, the highest in the past decade. The company had termed last year an extremely challenging one, and the loss also reflected the phased cutting by 36% of the price offered by the preferential European market for Guyana’s sugar.
Hanoman was also quoted as saying that GuySuCo has acquired a molasses storage facility which is the first of its kind in the Caribbean. The geo-membrane facility has a capacity for 15,000 tonnes of molasses and is currently being installed at the Skeldon estate.
The press statement disclosed that performance trials on the Punt Dumper at Skeldon started on Tuesday and tests will be undertaken over two eight-hour periods. The twin dumper, which has the capacity to process 350 tonnes of cane per hour, had operational problems a few weeks ago.
Further, GuySuCo noted that pile driving and civil works have commenced on Project Gold at the Enmore estate, and that designs for the project, which were recently submitted by the contractor were currently being reviewed. Project Gold is aimed at establishing GuySuCo’s second sugar packaging facility which is four times the capacity of Blairmont.
