Rains halt harvesting of sugarcane –Production stands at 11,218 tonnes

SUGAR production stands at 11,218 tonnes, but the rainfall over the last few days has negatively affected harvesting in the cane fields.“The rains have stopped harvesting, because we cannot burn the canes to get them out of the fields,” said Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) Industrial Relations Head, Jairam Pitam, in a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday.

He explained that field operations are expected to be affected for at least three days after the rainfall has stopped, given the accumulation of water in the cane fields.
“It will take at least three days before we can get back to normal operations became of the water in the fields,” Pitam said.
The GuySuCo official added that the Skeldon factory is still to commence operations. “By the end of next week, Skeldon should start,” he said.
In addition to Skeldon, GuySuCo operates seven other estates, located at Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara; Wales, West Bank Demerara; Enmore and La Bonne Intention, East Coast Demerara; Rose Hall and Albion on the Corentyne Coast in East Berbice; and Blairmont, West Bank Berbice.
“All of the other factories are grinding and once the rain stops will continue operations,” Pitam said.
The production being targeted by GuySuCo for 2015 is some 240,000 tonnes.
In 2014, GuySuCo recorded a production of 216,147 tonnes – the first crop having surpassed the 75,000-tonne target, bringing in about 80,000 tonnes.

The calamitous drop in sugar prices globally and in preferred markets, which challenges all sugar industries, coupled with the dramatic fall in earnings and, by extension, cash flow, and the prevailing weather conditions, were among several of the difficulties that affected the local sugar industry during 2014.

The industry saw a dismal sugar production level in the past years, but Guyana has since been taking steps to turn around its sugar industry, and hopes to soon meet a 300,000-tonne target. There is also a projection that the sector would reach a 400,000-tonne goal by 2020. (Vanessa Narine)

 

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