Dear Editor,
I write as a follow up to Mr EB John’s letter of December 2, in which he asked the question, “Why Skeldon was at all necessary?”
The new Skeldon factory was conceptualized as a component of the then Strategic Plan in 1998-9. At the time, GuySuCo was on an upward trend in annual production and was producing enough raw or brown sugar for our existing markets, including approximately 100,000 tonnes for our Caricom markets.
The new Skeldon factory was intended to produce 110,000 tonnes of refined or white sugar, since this quantity was the demand of the Caricom market.
In addition to the refinery at Skeldon, other value added products were planned to improve the bottom line, namely a distillery and a cogeneration unit.
The reason that the new Skeldon factory design was changed to another raw or brown sugar factory, as exists today, has not been publicized.
Yours faithfully
(Name and address provided)
