As part of an effort to achieve a production target of 100,000 tonnes of sugar in 2024, President Irfaan Ali on Friday evening announced that bilateral discussions are currently underway with the Dominican Republic (DR) for their assistance in boosting the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) cultivation efforts.
The President made the disclosure during his address at the commemoration ceremony of the 75th anniversary of the Enmore Martyrs, at the monument site in Enmore, East Coast Demerara.
“As a matter of fact, we have been in discussion with India, Guatemala and the DR on having scientific [assistance] in helping us to have the right variety [of sugarcane] and to create a nursery that would allow us to expedite the process of having more of the seedlings available to have the cultivation expanded rapidly,” he announced. The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Rodolfo Abinader recently visited Guyana.
Since the PPP/C took office in August 2020, various measures have been floated to aid the ailing sugar industry with production but none has materialised.
Ali stated that the government was working aggressively to put GuySuCo in a better position to advance the prospects of the industry. He noted that by the end of the year, the new packaging systems at Albion will come on stream and as such, the sector will benefit from modernisation and upgraded machinery.
Furthermore, Ali said that he is prepared to engage in discussions with management, the union, and workers, to seek ways to further collaborate and expand their relationship and reposition their priorities. He also signalled his intention to engage in dialogue in response to Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) General Secretary, Aslim Singh’s request.
Singh during his address at the commemoration observances made the call for dialogue with the view to finding sustainable means for the success of the industry.
“Success can also be attributed to greater collaboration between the unions and GuySuCo in recent months… In this regard Mr. President, the GAWU wishes for you to consider an engagement between yourself, the workers, and the union and the management of GuySuCo to facilitate even greater dialogue as we together address certain issues that we believe can bring us closer to our objectives.”
For this crop, the sugar producer set one of its lowest industry targets at 16,000 metric tonnes. Last year’s first crop production target was 20,261 metric tonnes, but the corporation only managed to produce 13,076 metric tonnes of sugar. An industry source had told Stabroek News that while this year’s first crop target is one of the lowest, it was set given the availability of cane in the fields like all other years.
In this crop season which concluded in May, the Blairmont estate achieved 9% above its weekly targets, while Uitvlugt accomplished 8% more in mid-March. In the week ending March 26, Blairmont Estate surpassed its target by 12% owing to good weather. 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 focussed on field management to improve the quality of sugarcane cultivated, according to the sources.
At the end of the second crop last year, production figures showed that GuySuCo was unable to achieve its target of 40,255 metric tonnes of sugar. Production figures seen by this newspaper in mid-December indicated that it fell short of its target by 6,585 metric tonnes. The total crop production figure stood at 33,770 metric tonnes from a target of 40,255.
Last year Blairmont had also surpassed its production target by 21% as it produced 9,576 metric tonnes of sugar from a target of 7,899. Albion Estate had produced 84% of its target: 18,180 metric tonnes from a target of 21,566. Mean-while, Uitvlugt Estate, which had faced mechanical challenges in the first crop, only produced 56% of its target. The estate’s target was 10,800 metric tonnes and it had only produced 6,014 by mid-December.
Given such substandard performance, critics had questioned the government’s decision to keep subsidising the corporation. GuySuCo received some $4 billion in subventions from the state this year, Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, had announced during the presentation of the 2023 budget. Addressing the National Assembly, Singh explained that the allocated sum will be used for the construction and expansion of the packaging plants at the Albion and Blairmont estates.
“We have also targeted the acquisition of a drying machine to improve the quality of our packaged sugar, and a stick packaging machine to offer a new smaller packet of sugar to meet the needs of premium markets.”
The Finance Minister stressed that the allocated sum will also support the anticipated reopening of the Rose Hall sugar estate and support the sugar producer’s mechanisation programme rollout and procurement of conversion equipment that will contribute to improved productivity.
Since taking the helm of government in 2020, the PPP/C administration has allocated over $10 billion in plant and equipment upgrades along with the rehabilitation of sugar cane fields at all factories. Despite these interventions however, sugar production has continued to fall and the corporation has been beset by a raft of problems.
Singh had assured the House that government is committed to the revitalisation and restructuring of the sugar industry. The allocations in the past and present, he explained, are to support a “diversified and modernised sector, ensuring its sustainability and economic viability.”
