The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) is optimistic that the target of 280,000 tonnes of sugar for this year would be met despite a modest first crop which was severely hampered by the prolonged dry weather as a result of the El Nino phenomenon.
This is encouraging news for the entire country, especially when one considers the difficult financial state of the corporation which was triggered largely by the closure of preferential markets and the drastic cuts in sugar prices by the EU. But to a lesser extent there were several factors locally which also affected production including low field productivity, factory break downs, unstable industrial relations, mismanagement etc.
According to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GUYSUCO, Rajaindra Singh a number of interventions will see the realisation of the target. He said that in addition to capacity building in critical areas, the company should benefit from preparatory work done late last year and early this year.
On the industrial relations front, the corporation had less strikes in the first months of 2010. “We are working very closely with the union to ensure that efficiency at all levels is maintained.” He also spoke of training of the company’s workers at all levels,” Singh said.
This is one of the crucial areas and in recent years strike  has taken its toll on the weak financial position of the corporation and therefore it is heartening to learn that this has been acknowledged but more importantly that the matter is being addressed by working closely with the union to ensure efficiency at all levels.
Optimising production in sugar industry is not option but rather an imperative because it is our largest industry and represents over 20% of our national economy, employing some 20,000 persons directly and creates jobs for perhaps a similar number indirectly.
Within the English-speaking Caribbean-apart from Belize our sugar industry is the only other one which has survived the onslaught of trade liberalisation and the end to preferential markets. Therefore we have to ensure it remains a viable. There is simply too much at stake and failure to ensure its viability will be disastrous on our national life.
Currently there are some ominous signs which could further complicate financial matters for the corporation as Euro continues to dip and the bulk of our sugar exports goes to the European market.
A close watch is also needed to be kept on the global sugar markets as current trends indicate that despite production shortfalls in major producers global output will not be significantly affected and therefore increased prices are unlikely.
According to the latest FAO forecasts, after falling in 2008/09, world sugar production is expected to recover by 3.3 percent to 159.6 million tonnes in 2009/10. The growth in production is attributed to generally favourable weather conditions and higher prices, which should encourage the use of fertilisers and other inputs. The bulk of the expansion is expected to take place in the developing countries, where production is forecast to grow by 3.7 percent, as opposed to 1.8 percent in the developed countries. Despite a larger world production, this will not be enough to cover the expected global consumption in 2009/10, marking the second consecutive year of a shortfall. The deficit between production and consumption is predicted to hover around 3 million tonnes.
In South America, production is forecast to change little, overall. Although the outlook in Brazil has deteriorated recently as a result of heavy rainfall during late summer, which damaged sugar-cane yields and delayed harvesting operations, output is now estimated to remain at last year’s level of around 38 million tonnes. Given the relative competitiveness of sugar prices against ethanol returns, it is expected that a larger share of around 43 percent of sugar cane output will be allocated for the processing of sugar instead of ethanol, as opposed to 40 percent in 2008/09. Sugar production is expected to rise in Argentina, reflecting a return to favourable weather conditions and large investments in productive capacity. Increased output is expected in Peru, as large private investment entered the sector to cater for domestic consumption and exports. Sugar output in Colombia should also increase on the back of rising planted areas, as buoyant domestic sugar prices should also favour the transformation into sugar over sugarcane-based ethanol.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation Rajaindra Singh is confident that the corporation will achieve its sugar production target of 280,000 tonnes this year, saying that although the dry weather is responsible for a modest first crop, field management work that began last year will lead to a large second crop.
Speaking to this newspaper last week, Singh said that a number of interventions will see the realization of the target. He said that in addition to capacity building in critical areas, the company should benefit from preparatory work done late last year and early this year.
Ms Tanya Cumberbatch-May, Guysuco’s Corporate Planner told the Guyana Chronicle that since the approval of the blueprint in May 2009, the company started with land rehabilitation, increasing the size of cultivation, constructing the Enmore Packaging Plant and she said that these were all going to plan.
Cumberbatch-May said that a lot of work went into implementing the plan in 2009 and noted that a lot of skills have been acquired in critical areas. Further, she said that the retooling has started and there has been a lot of training at the level of management.
Deputy CEO Singh said that on the industrial relations front, the corporation had less strikes in the first months of 2010. He said, “We are working very closely with the union to ensure that efficiency at all levels is maintained.” He also spoke of training of the company’s workers at all levels.
He said that workers have access to a Workers Council, which has been recently resuscitated. He said that because of the Workers’ Council, feedback to and from workers and the communication links have been improved.
The DCEO said that up to the point of the interview – last week – the corporation did not have a readjustment of the projected target for the year. Last year, the corporation was only able to produce 233,000 tonnes.  He said that although the company fell short on the first half’s target for 2010, there is hope for the second crop. The target for the first crop was set at 91,675 tonnes, but the corporation only achieved 81,864 tonnes. Further, the corporation in 2009 achieved a first crop of 83,289 tonnes. The target for the second crop – to commence around the end of July – is 190,000 tonnes.
General Manager – Agriculture Services Raymond Sangster said that the corporation is hoping to achieve and even surpass that target to pick up on the shortfall for the first crop. He is basing this hope on the field work that started last year and ran into this year, which is said will increase yields.
The Deputy CEO said: “At this point in time we feel confident that we will be able to achieve [our target] but in July we will do a crop estimation [which will tell if we will].”
Speaking on the defects still plaguing the new Skeldon Sugar Factory, Factory Operations Manager Sharma Dwarka said that these will be addressed before the commencement of the new crop. “We have a work programmme and we are working closely with the contractor,” said Dwarka.
Asked of the capacity of the company to supply the cane required to run the factory at its optimum level, the management team said that they have been assured that by the second half of 2011, the Skeldon factory will have its full measure of cane. They said that once the factory gets the supply of cane it needs, it can produce som
e 300 tonnes of sugar per hour. Presently the production is between 250 and 280 tonnes per hours at Skeldon.
But Dwarka said that the focus is not only on Skeldon, but that there is a programme which looks at maintenance at several factories across the country. The programme will seek to improve efficiencies in milling and in the processing of cane into sugar. He said too that there is a plan to spread the ISO 9001 culture among the factories. He said that Blairmont is already certified and the company is working to ensure that Enmore gets there.