While the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is expecting to see a 2.3% increase in its production from last year, with a 107,000-tonne projection, sugar workers’ union leader Komal Chand believes that the company is still operating below its potential.
Chand, who is the President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), told Stabroek News that the sugar company has set its 2019 annual target at 107,023 tonnes of sugar, which is a slight increase from last year’s 103,000-tonne target.
For the first crop, which has already commenced, Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt are projected to produce 18,511 tonnes, 7,955 tonnes and 7,397 tonnes of sugar, respectively, for a first crop target of 33,863 tonnes.
For the second crop, Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt are expected to produce 38,559 tonnes, 21,941 tonnes and 12,660 tonnes of sugar, respectively, for a second crop total of 73,160 tonnes and bringing the total yearly production to 107,023 tonnes of sugar.
If the projected yearly production is realised, then GuySuCo will record an increase of 2,394 tonnes of sugar from last year, an increase of 2.3% over the 104,629 tonnes of sugar produced in 2018.
GuySuCo had also told Stabroek News that harvesting started at Albion and Blairmont on March 1st, while grinding started on the following day. The commencement date for the Uitvlugt Estate is still to be finalised.
Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt Estates will have a nine, six and seven-week grinding cycle, respectively.
The corporation also disclosed that currently the Blairmont Estate has vacancies for 150 cane harvesters, three electricians, two fitter machinists, a diesel mechanic and a staff nurse, while the Albion Estate has vacancies for cane harvesters, planters, rat hunters and weeders.
Despite the slight increase in projected output, Chand related that the sugar company is still heavily underutilising its assets and he believes the production figures should be higher. “We want to say those targets ought to be much higher. These estates have greater capacity… the fields, the workforce that you have and the factories. So what has been happening, since there was a change in government, sugar has not been treated how it ought to be treated,” he said.
Chand also pointed out that the current stalemate between GuySuCo and the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) of NICIL is “choking the industry.”
He said that there is a need for there to be a clear and concise plan and agreement between the two entities on how the $30 billion loan for the company will be spent.
“Now what is happening is that there is no… plan on how they are going to utilise this money; how much in agriculture, how much in the factory operations. What you will do when you talk about co-gen in Skeldon and Albion? You need to do work on the fields in order to get more sugar because if you have a co-gen facility and you don’t have [enough] canes, you will not be able to realise that venture, so you have to [put] your agriculture in order,” he said.
Chand also referenced the plans for the production of white sugar, and emphasised that works need to be done in the respective parts of the industry, including the fields and factories.
“So they are in that plight where they have not been able to get their acts together and the industry is being underfinanced. The government has not provided any money, so they depend on the loan, which a small part was released to GuySuCo. But the matter remains like that and that is choking the industry,” he opined, while stating that the government is accountable for the situation and should see it resolved soon and amicably. (Dhanash Ramroop)
