The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has set one of its lowest production targets in years, despite significant investments in the sector.
Sources within the industry indicated that the target for the 2023 first crop has been set at 16,000 tonnes. Last year’s first crop, it should be noted, had a production target of 20,261 metric tonnes, but the corporation only managed to produce 13,076 metric tonnes of sugar. While this probably has bearing on the lower target set this year, critics have said it was concerning and places the corporation in the spotlight regarding the challenges it faces.
Sources in the industry explained that there is low quality of sugarcane in the fields and it is likely that the crops will produce higher yields as they age. In this regard, GuySuCo’s management is focused on field management to improve the quality of sugarcane cultivated, according to the sources.
Nevertheless, the corporation announced last week that both the Blairmont and Uitvlugt estates have surpassed their weekly sugar production targets. The Blairmont estate achieved 9% above its weekly target, while Uitvlugt accomplished 8% more. This is a first for the 2023 season, which commenced in February.
GuySuCo, in a statement said that as a result of the achievement, qualified workers who worked 80 percent or more days for the week would benefit from the weekly production incentive scheme. This allows for tax-free incentives when an estate achieves its weekly production target.
Uitvlugt Estate Manager Hutton Griffith credited the performance mainly to the factory’s efficiency and favourable weather conditions. In the statement, Hutton also explained that there was excellent quality of cane harvested for production.
At the end of the second crop last year, production figures showed that GuySuCo was unable to achieve its target of 40,255 tonnes of sugar. Production figures seen by this newspaper in mid-December, indicated that the industry fell short of its target by 6,585 tonnes. The total crop production figure stood at 33,770 tonnes from a target of 40,255.
The figures showed that the Blairmont sugar estate had surpassed its production target by 21% as it produced 9,576 tonnes of sugar from a target of 7,899 tonnes. The Albion estate had produced 84% of its targeted production and at Albion production was 18,180 tonnes from a target of 21,566 tonnes. Meanwhile, the Uitvlugt estate, which had faced mechanical challenges in the first crop, only produced 56% of its target. The estate’s target was 10,800 tonnes and it had only produced 6,014 tonnes of sugar by mid-December.
