The report by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) that the second crop is off to a good start should be good news for not only the sugar industry but for the entire nation as well because of the pivotal role of this industry to the well being of the national economy.

According to the Company, grinding for this crop commenced at the end of July and is progressing steadily.

“Estates have all started off well and targets have been surpassed at Albion, Rose Hall, Blairmont and Uitvlugt. This achievement qualified workers at the respective estates for the equivalent of one extra day’s pay under the Production Incentive Scheme,” the Corporation said.

In recent years the Corporation has been beset by several problems which resulted in plummeting production. The problems which contributed to lowering production were heavy rainfall, poor management, unstable industrial relations, factory downtime and a high level of absenteeism by workers. Consequently, there was an inquiry into the operations of the Corporation and a subsequent management shake-up which saw the end of the Booker Tate stewardship of the industry which was replaced a local management team.

In addition, the financial difficulties of the Corporation were severely aggravated by the conclusion of preferential prices and steep cuts in the price of sugar by the European Union under the new sugar protocol.

While it may be too early to properly assess the performance of this new management team, nevertheless credit should be given to it for seeing the current crop off to a good start.

The achievement of the target of 160,000 tonnes of sugar is critical especially against the backdrop of the fall short of some 6,000 tonnes for the first crop.

However, there should be optimism in this respect seeing that the state of the art Skeldon Factory will go into operation shortly.

The weather of course will be a crucial factor and one has to hope that good weather would prevail for the entire crop. But another major factor is stable industrial relations and the morale of the workers and the management of the individual estates should do their utmost in this respect so as to encourage and motivate workers, who propel the wheels of production, to produce at their maximum output. In this way the industry and the national economy will be helped and simultaneously it will bring financial benefits to them through production incentives etc.

On the other hand managers who are guilty of frustrating workers and stifling production should be removed from the system, while workers must act responsibly and reasonable and form a partnership with management to increase production and productivity.

The corporation should also keep a close watch on what is happening on the international sugar front to help tailor its international marketing strategy which is vital to the viability of the industry

It should be noted that FAO has revised its estimates for world sugar production to 158.5 million tonnes in 2008/09, which is 2.5 million below the first estimate released in November 2008, and 9 million tonnes, or 5.4 percent less than in 2007/08. The revision was largely caused by a deterioration of production prospects in India, where sugar output is now estimated to have fallen by a drastic 45 percent. The drop would ensue from a decline in planted area, as many producers allocated land to alternative, more remunerative, crops, such as maize and soybeans. In addition to India, sugar production contracted in Australia, the European Union, Pakistan and the United States, with relatively small decreases foreseen in Thailand. However, in the Latin America and Caribbean region, sugar production in Brazil (October/September) is expected to rise to 39.6 million tonnes in 2008/09, about 29 percent more than in 2007/08, despite heavy rains at harvest time, which reduced yields. Sugar-cane production is set to reach 566 million tonnes, which corresponds to a 15 percent increase from last year, on account of a 12 percent expansion in cane planted area. It is estimated that about 60 percent of Brazil’s 2008/09 sugar-cane harvest will be processed into cane-based ethanol, buoyed by higher returns from domestic ethanol relative to export markets. However, if international sugar prices continue to augment, providing no upsurge in crude oil prices, the share of cane directed to sugar should be expected to increase. Elsewhere in the region, sugar production in Colombia is expected to increase by 3 percent in 2008/09, while it should remain relatively unchanged in Argentina and decline slightly in Peru.