-industry production cost pegged at U$1.31 per pound
Already experiencing dismal sugar production, GuySuCo is facing further woes as its factory at the Albion Estate has recently been plagued with a number of issues that have seen boiler and crystallizer malfunctions, added to the poor quality of cane produced and now, overproduction of molasses.
And while government has been mum regarding the situation, industry insiders have revealed that this country has been making a US96 cents loss on every pound of sugar as it is being produced at a cost of US$1.31 when world market prices are currently at US35 cents.
“It just isn’t seeming to end. From poor quality ratoon which gives poor juice and syrup to added complications because the boiler isn’t working at peak due to not having the tube as yet… makes the whole imbibition process gone wrong and we are left with so much molasses,” a source close to the industry told the Sunday Stabroek yesterday.
Another explained, “Over the last six weeks, the Albion factory has been facing serious challenges with the disposal of sugar and molasses, due to number of reasons, such as sugar vessel turnaround time, limited storing space, contractors not working due to payment which leads to high build-up of stock levels.”
“In these cases we had to put strict massecuite (a liquid mixture that is boiled to produce raw sugar) in crystallizers which are not working and in bad condition. Once the massecuite get in these crystallizers, it will foam and can cause spillage. Couple[d] with all of this is the low POL (polarization in cane production) which will produce more molasses,” the source added.
This newspaper was told that management has already determined that the boilers are working inefficiently or “they are malfunctioning; breaking down too often” and “need major overhaul but the tubes are not in Guyana as yet.”
Ordered since late July, GuySuCo is unclear whether they will arrive before the next out-of-crop season, according to a source.
“We have to be petting them; trying to keep them functional. They are not generating enough heat to consistently boil the cane juice to advance the process towards producing sugar,” one source explained.
That source also noted poor growing conditions for the cane crops at the Albion estate but said that it is the same at others. “The poor growing conditions is indeed also another issue but note that the cane being extracted from the fields, that is coming to the factory, has low POL. It means the level of impurities in the cane are a lot. The lower the POL the more impure is the cane juice. And because of the poor growing conditions, it [the cane] is highly fibrous and this means less juice per tonne of cane. Now this juice is also producing more than average molasses that normally occurs,” the source noted.
There has also been a problem between the transporter of molasses and the corporation because of overly late payments and this has seen a backlog of the liquid being stored on site at the Albion estate.
“To add to that burden because of lack of timely payment to the supplier, it [molasses] is not moving fast enough. It is in [not used] crystallizer bins…,” a source said.
Maladies
A source said that the estate should be made to explain all of the maladies so that they could be rectified as having it done “piecemeal” is not good for productivity.
“They need to say what is happening, play by play. Let me explain how it goes. There is a milling process and this crushes all cane. Here there are four mills. Imagine a sponge with ink and you have to exhaust getting the colour out. So you add a bit of water and squeeze and the first set is concentrated and as you squeeze and squeeze… you squeeze as much as you economically can and that is how the process of imbibition works. You can add more mills but that means more energy and money,” an industry veteran said.
“You get juice and you get bagasse. If the milling is done properly, the fibre can be burned for fuel. The boiler is water converted into steam. If the boiler is missing a part [there is] less steam. The steam is used in the powerhouse to drive the steam turbine for power, it is also used in the turbines to provide the
