… despite the effects of the ‘El Nino’ phenomenon
The first sugar crop of 2010 ended last Monday , with Skeldon being the last unit to cease grinding.
Despite the many constraints resulting from ‘El Nino’, GuySuCo has to date produced 81,864 tonnes of sugar (pending Skeldon’s final declaration) from a production target of 91,675 tonnes. This achievement represents 89.3% of the target.
Tillage and planting are key indicators in the industry’s refurbishment plan. In the first crop, the industry achieved 86% of its tillage and 80% of its replanting programme.
The outlook for production for the coming second crop is extremely good, given that in 2009 the corporation achieved 9,763 hectares in tillage which was 99% of the target for the year and 9,946 hectares of planting.
Rose Hall and Enmore experienced the most significant shortfalls in production. These two estates were the worst affected by the ‘El Nino’ phenomenon. Most of the canes harvested on these estates were from the front lands. These lands have high saline content compared to the remainder of the cultivation. Under extremely dry conditions, canes growing on these soils become totally desiccated and invariably die.
With the limited availability of water especially at Enmore, irrigation had to be restricted. Irrigation resources were concentrated mainly in supplying water in canals for cane transport and to a lesser extent keeping young plant canes alive.
The low navigation system, especially in Demerara, impacted negatively on canes reaching the factory on time. This resulted in extended burning to grinding intervals and subsequent loss in sugar.

SKELDON

A high number of stoppages were experienced during the first crop due to factors in both the factory and cultivation.
At the time of issuing this release, the number of defects at the factory was reduced to 41, of which four are considered critical.
Based on the good work being done by both GuySuCo and the contractor, we are confident that by the start of the second crop, most of the defects will be rectified.
While the factory achieved a crushing rate of 250 tch (tonnes canes per hour) in the first crop, GuySuCo is targeting 300 tch in the second crop, and 350 tch in the first crop of 2011, which is the design throughput.
The Corporation supplied the Guyana Power & Light Inc. with 18,737 MWh of electricity during the period January 1st 2010 to May 23rd 2010. The forecast for the year is 81,000 MWh, which compares with 38,142 MWh in 2009.
It is expected that the estate land expansion will be completed by the end of this year and the farmers’ expansion by 2011.
The Corporation recognizes that if conditions continue to be relatively wet at Skeldon, more tractors and mechanical harvesters will be required to achieve our objective in the reduced opportunity time.

FINANCE

Of real concern to the Corporation at this time is the depreciating Euro. The indications suggest that this situation will continue into the foreseeable future. A significant percentage of the industry’s production is shipped to Europe. As a result, the value of the Euro will impact the Corporation’s finances.