The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) today said that the Report on the Feasibility Study for Aquaculture – as a diversification venture for GuySuCo – has found that it has significant potential.
A statement by GuySuCo tonight said that the study was undertaken by AquaSol Corporation Inc., a company that is based in Florida, United States.
The statement said that areas examined in the study included: an evaluation of the physical characteristics of the proposed geographic location’s soil properties; – water resources and quality. Included also were the infrastructure – and the requirements for managing a commercial aquaculture project. The statement said that the consultants gave the rationale for selecting particular species in this case tilapia; along with a detailed operational plan that includes Farm Design and Operations.
“The Report indicates that there are numerous competitive advantages for Aquaculture as a key diversification venture and as a business opportunity for GuySuCo in the short, medium and long term.
“The main products considered in the Report were: Tilapia and Shrimp. However, the study concluded that Tilapia was more suited to the Wales Estate project site than shrimp that required a relatively saline environment. The study highlighted that Guyana’s climatic conditions and soil types are ideal to support high growth rates for Tilapia throughout the year”, the statement added.
On the operational side, the study said that the capacity of the Corporation will have to be built from an organizational perspective – systems and retraining of employees – as well as recruiting appropriate skills and expertise.
Market opportunities for this venture are – to a small extent – local and regional, the statement added. However, the main targeted markets would be in the United States. Brazil also appears to be market of unexplored potential.
It is unclear what prompted tonight’s statement. It followed an editorial in today’s Stabroek News pointing out that the promises by the corporation for diversification at Wales had not materialised 17 months on.
