President hits at critics of Government’s sugar policy
…says administration even-handed with all productive sectors
President Bharrat Jagdeo said that critics of the government’s stance on investing into the sugar industry must examine what the administration is doing in other areas also, citing support to other sectors of the economy which went through rough times. He spoke yesterday at the commissioning of the new Enmore packaging facility, part of a US$12.5M upgrade package for the Enmore Estate and another in the effort at making the sugar industry sustainable.
“Thank you to all of those who have made it a reality. The path to success will not be easy, but we have to succeed,” he said. “There is no other choice.”
He said, “As we celebrate this achievement here today, we are celebrating the commitment of a government that sees the industry as important. We’re celebrating the commitment to workers to make the industry successful but we cannot just sit by and admire our achievements in the industry, and we have had achievements.”
He said that the company needs to move on to fixing the next set of problems that plague the industry, so that “…we can have a prosperous, thriving sugar industry in Guyana.”
He said that the Skeldon factory has been the largest single investment by government in Guyana. “We have kept the sugar industry alive in Guyana when industries right across the world, including in the Caribbean, are failing,” he said.
“And while I must be extremely thankful to the European Union for the support we got from them for this factory and the industry, it was the European Union that unilaterally repudiated the sugar protocol, a protocol that was established since the 1970s; and on the basis of that protocol, the European Union got a preferential price for sugar, almost half the world market price at that time, in exchange for long-term access to their markets. They forgot the historical dimensions of this agreement and they emphasised only its commercial aspect. As a result of that, today our sugar prices are 36 percent less than they were just five years ago,” the president said.
As a result of the price cuts, Guyana loses US$45M annually, “and yet we have made a commitment to keep this industry alive.” He said that others who are less committed, including some of the talk show hosts, “would like us to get out of sugar. They think the problems are insurmountable. We in the PPP/C don’t think that this is so. We think that we have what it takes – government, workers, management, all of us together, to make this industry successful.”
On the unpredictable weather blamed for the industry’s failings of late, the president blamed developed countries for their carbon emissions on which rising global temperatures are being blamed. “They contributed to the whole issue of global warming and now with its consequences – changing weather patterns, unusual weather patterns, high level of volatility in weather. This has had an inordinate impact on Guyana,” he said.
“You have a commitment from this government, and not a hollow commitment, a commitment matched by money – nearly US$200M for Skeldon, US$12.5M for this facility here, US$20M of support because of the difficulties you have had, and support for wages and salaries, so as to keep the industry alive,” he said.
“You have heard Donald Ramotar speak and he will head the next government. He knows about sugar so you can count on his support for the industry,” said Jagdeo.
He said that while the economy is expected to be expanded from the new and emerging industries, sugar, rice and bauxite would continue to grow and enjoy the administration’s support. However, he noted that the growth in the new sectors might eventually dwarf sugar earnings, thus rendering the sugar sector less important to the economy.
“I am very happy that we have taken this stand to add value to our sugar. For too long our sugar was exported in its raw form and transnational corporations elsewhere often had a market premium for the sale of these products. We hope that by producing more sugar, bringing down the cost of production, doing clean energy through our co-generation facility, and by exporting more packaged sugar, and going the ethanol route, we will create a complex that would allow all of these activities combined to keep the industry prosperous,” he said.
He stated that 60 percent of Guyana’s GDP comes from the sugar industry. “One may think this is a small sum,” he said, adding that the sugar industry is vital to Guyana and not just to sugar workers.
Taking a swipe at Chairman of the Demerara Distillers Limited, Dr. Yesu Persaud, for comments he made recently about too much political interference in business, the president said, “had there not been a political commitment by this government to the sugar industry, today sugar would have been dead in Guyana.”
He said that this is not political interference but a political commitment. “But…the same company when we went out to tender some years ago to say that all of the molasses that we would produce at Skeldon will go to a refinery, went to the court and blocked that investment…because they wanted to secure our molasses. It would have been a US$12M investment by a Trinidadian company to build a refinery here. By a perverse decision of the court, it ruled that we had to sell our molasses to this company, in a free market environment,” he said.
“So when those who try to disparage the efforts that this government is making to keep sugar alive, they must look at themselves. The alcohol industry is based on the sweat and blood of the sugar industry,” he said. He said these critics forget that every year, $2B goes to the Linden community to subsidise electricity there, and noted that the administration nursed the bauxite industry until new investors took up the challenge.
“We manage with a clear conscience because we see all of our people, regardless of their religion or race, as Guyanese, equal before our Constitution, and equal in terms of opportunities. If you dig deeper behind this rhetoric, you would find a bundle of facts that disproves all of them,” he said.
“Workers…we can’t survive if the turnout is 43 percent across the industry, as we had last week, we can’t survive if the managers that we entrust to lead the industry do not see the industry as theirs, working in a collaborative way with the workers…it would not work if that does not happen. It would not work if there is no political support,” he said.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, CEO of Guysuco, Paul Bhim, said that the facility is a central part of the industry’s turnaround plan. He noted also that during the second crop this year, the number two boiler, which was damaged, would be back in operation. He said that improvements in the factory would mean improved performance for Skeldon.
Bhim said that the facility which will package 40,000 tonnes of sugar initially, and 80,000 tonnes in some years would cause the industry’s earnings to grow by 30 to 35 percent.
Chairman of Guysuco’s Board of Directors, Dr. Nanda K. Gopaul, said the commissioning of the packaging facility is a proud moment for the sugar industry in Guyana. He said that its coming into being could not have been made possible without the support of the Government of Guyana and the president himself.
Dr. Gopaul said that with over 90,000 tonnes produced so far, the company is well within reach of its target. “We have the canes…we saw signs of a turnaround last year, but the weather and [some labour] issues prevented us from harvesting all the canes,” he said.
He also called for workers to come out to work and make use of the many available opportunity days.
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said that the commissioning of the plant represented another important milestone “as we seek a modern and viable sugar industry.”
He said that the project is evidence that the government has the commitment to overcome the challenges of the industry. “We could all look forward to a bright future in sugar,” he said.
Member of the Guysuco Board of Directors and PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Donald Ramotar, said that the sugar industry is the oldest in Guyana and has been built off the backs of many Guyanese patriots over the generations. He noted that it is from the sugar industry that other industries in Guyana sprang up.
He said that over time, Guyana was relegated to being producers of raw sugar. He said that the country had hoped that this would have changed after independence but this was not the case.
“We did not expect Europe to cut us loose so fast, but we had made plans for the industry,” he said.
Ramotar said that the management and Board of Guysuco are sometimes vilified in the press. But to these critics, he said that there was not a better group of managers in Guyana than those working at the sugar entity. “I have every faith that they will turn the industry around,” he said.
Backing up what Ramotar said, Director on Guysuco Board, Keith Burrowes, said the Board is the most competent and dedicated “I have ever come across.” He said that they have put in a lot of time and effort into their job. He noted too that all of the Board members of Guysuco benefited in some way, shape or form from the immense institutional memory of Ramotar, who, in his formative years, worked in the main sugar union, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).
“Ramotar’s knowledge of the sugar industry is amazing. He is extremely passionate on staff issues,” said Burrowes.
After the speeches, the President and the official party received from CEO Paul Bhim a guided tour of the facility.