The Guyana Sugar Corporation’s second crop will swing into full gear next week, when it is expected that all eight estates will be brought on board to reach the production target that was revised to a modest 146,000 tonnes.
The second crop figure will take the annual production target for 2015 well below what was originally floated by the corporation under the former Chief Executive Officer Rajendra Singh prior to the Interim Management Committee (IMC) being established by the new government after the May 11th general elections. Singh was dismissed by the new government.
GuySuCo is hoping for a more realistic annual production target of 227,000 tonnes, down by almost 15,000 tonnes from the original 2015 target of 241,503 tonnes. In 2014, GuySuCo’s annual production was 216,000 tonnes and output in the second crop was 141,000 tonnes, 5,000 tonnes less than the second crop figure this year. The new 2015 second crop production target is also more in line with the traditional 40/60 ratio for the first and second crops albeit still higher than what the first crop target of 86,201 tonnes would allow for. The first crop of 2015 produced 81,194 tonnes of sugar officially according to GuySuCo, just over 5,000 tonnes under target.
Stabroek News was informed that the second crop production target was kept secret by GuySuCo under the previous management in hopes that the corporation would have the ability to recoup the production lost during the first crop. Additionally, Stabroek News was told that going forward concerns have been raised in relation to cane on the ground.
As of Thursday, the Rose Hall and Albion estates began burning cane following Blairmont, which started over the previous weekend.
Stabroek News was told that inclement weather had delayed the start of the second crop for more than two weeks. The first crop had also begun two weeks later than originally scheduled and although it was expected to conclude in the week of May 5th the corporation made the decision to keep going until poor weather ended production.
The controversial US$110M Skeldon Factory is expected to perform better this crop as the rehabilitation of the problematic outbound punt dump was completed in April. Skeldon estate missed its 2015 first crop 17,200-tonne target by more than half, producing approximately 8,000 tonnes for the first crop. It is a far cry from what this flagship factory was supposed to be producing. When first conceptualised, it was meant to produce 110,000 tonnes per annum.
The main sugar union, GAWU had been critical of GuySuCo’s ability to ensure that the fields are properly cared for, inclusive of guaranteeing timely fertiliser treatments.
Director of Finance of the IMC Paul Bhim, in a recent interview, told Stabroek News that the out-of-crop season could not be neglected and he alluded to the fact that the company has been able to negotiate with suppliers for much needed fertiliser to ensure the quality and growth of the canes. Stabroek News inquired about the current status of the cane on the ground and Bhim said that assessments were ongoing.
The finance director demurred on questions related to the future of GuySuCo beyond the six-month lifespan of the IMC and adverted instead to the government-initiated Com-mission of Inquiry (CoI) into the industry and its potential findings.
Last Wednesday, the CoI team completed its first round of factory visits. COI Chairman Vibert Parvatan told Stabroek News that that all findings would need to be reported to the commission then the public. He did not state if there were recurring issues across the board as it relates to acquiring spare parts, which according to a source has been one major concern at Skeldon and Uitvlugt. The plight of the Chinese-built Skeldon factory is expected to be a major aspect of the COI’s work.
