THE Guyana Sugar Corporation yesterday confirmed that it will fall short of its revised production target for 2010 – 264,000 tonnes– with 210,000 tonnes milled so far with only days before the year ends.
In a press release Wednesday, the company affirmed that budgeted production at Skeldon was approximately 17 percent of the total industry- wide revised target of 264,000 tonnes.
According to Guysuco, production for the second crop was 126,128 tonnes for the week ending December 4, with an average workers turnout of 52 percent.
“Had this turnout averaged 75 percent, production would have been over 175,000 tonnes with very little or no carry-over canes into the first crop of 2011. This would have ensured the industry surpassed its revised target, placing it in a more secure financial position to easily pay a wage increase,” the release said.
“However, currently, industry-wide production figures are hovering around the 210,000 tonnes mark; and with two weeks remaining for the closure of the crop, coupled with the intense wet weather and the fact that workers turnout continue to remain the same, it is clear that the industry will not make its target by some margin, notwithstanding the fact that there are enough canes in the ground,” said GuySuCo’s release.
The company said that despite their pleadings, the union went ahead and called an industry wide one-week strike without any notification, “at such a crucial juncture.”
The company indicated that this further contributed to crippling the financial position of the Corporation as the strike resulted in valuable opportunity time being lost “which could have allowed the Corporation to produce 8,000 tonnes sugar from which badly needed cash – $900M – could have been earned.”
Guysuco said had the Corporation met its revised target, it would have been in a position to pay a wage increase and the annual production incentive.
“However, this is not a current reality. But with budgeted production set to improve significantly in 2011, the Corporation is confident that with the resulting improved cash flow this would generate, it will have no hesitation in rewarding the workers by offering a decent wages and salaries increase,” GuySuCo said.
Further, the company said it was bemused by the constant comments by the President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Mr. Komal Chand, blaming the Skeldon factory for the entire industry not meeting its revised production target of 264,000 tonnes for 2010.
“Mr. Chand in a Stabroek News report on December 7, 2010, took issue with the contents of a release from the Corporation on December 2, 2010, regarding the gradual improvement in production the factory has been showing from 2009 to this year.
“Stabroek News quite rightly stated that the Corporation did indicate that Skeldon continues to operate below full capacity,” said Guysuco in the press release.
The Corporation had also pointed out that despite the one- week, industry- wide strike called by Mr. Chand’s union recently, Skeldon was the only factory that continued to grind throughout this period and apart from the technical problems, production would have been much higher, barring work stoppages throughout the year due to strikes and the wet weather.
“Based on what has been outlined, one is left to ponder his ongoing allegation that the Corporation is hiding the facts, more so since the Corporation had pointed out in its earlier statement that an agreement had been reached with the contractor of the factory, CNTIC, ensuring that all the remaining defects will be corrected by January 2011, with the exception of the number one boiler which is scheduled for completion by June 30, 2011,” the release said.