The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) last week surpassed the half-way point of its 2015 first crop target ending the week with over 45,000 tonnes of sugar produced.
The state-owned company has not officially disclosed its targets and sources told Stabroek News that only the first crop target of 86,201 tonnes of sugar has been circulated. Minister of Agriculture Dr Leslie Ramsammy had told state media that the 2015 production target is 240,000 tonnes but GuySuCo Chief Executive Officer Raj Singh last week refused to confirm the figure. Sources said that only Singh and management in Industrial Relations have been provided with the annual target.
GuySuCo traditionally sets its two crop targets at a 40:60 ratio which would ultimately result in an annual production target of 215,502 tonnes for this year, well below the minister’s 240,000 tonnes claim. According to the 2013-2017 Strategic Plan, the target for 2015 was supposed to be 312,871 tonnes with a first crop target at 125,148 tonnes.
Concerns over sugar production remain as GuySuCo’s production levels continue to be less than promising. The corporation is producing just over 5000 tonnes of cane per week at the height of the first crop. Not only has production been sluggish but the trend of harvesting commencing late has continued this year with harvesting of the first crop having started in mid-February, as it did for the past three years.
Stabroek News understands too that the punt dump at the Skeldon factory has been riddled with ongoing mechanical issues. This publication was told that it is currently operating at half capacity but management does not want to disclose the extent of the problem to the public.
Of the first crop target, the Skeldon estate is responsible for just over 17,200 tonnes of sugar. Last year the estate laboured to meet its 13, 795 tonnes target, at times grinding less than seven tonnes of sugar daily.
During an appearance before Parliament’s Economic Services Committee in July last year, the company’s Technical Services Manager Yusuf Abdul stated that to fix the ill-performing punt dump could cost US$4 million. There has been significant controversy surrounding this figure as the rehabilitation of the punt dump was one of six projects that was supposed to be done by the South African firm Bosch Engineering.
With the revelation by Yusuf that the rehabilitation of the punt dump could be millions more, GuySuCo’s original quote of US$1.8 million would be inaccurate unless this is an additional sum that is required to facilitate further rehabilitation of the factory.
Singh at a press briefing on Wednesday during which it was announced that GuySuCo had sold its co-generation plant and three Wartsila power units at Skeldon to a state-owned company specially created for the purpose for a price of US$30 million, brushed off questions related to the current status of sugar production and the financial crisis the industry is in. He told reporters that a separate press briefing would be held in the near future to respond to the plethora of questions.
Critics are looking for answers as to how GuySuCo will tackle its $58 billion and rising debt in a transparent manner given the low sugar production and the high cost of production.
