-Deputy CEO says this is ‘good’
THE GUYANA Sugar Corporation has produced a total of 103,789 tonnes of sugar so far for the first crop, which figure falls some 35,000 below the projected crop target of 138,000, with three estates: Albion, Enmore and Wales still grinding, according to the Deputy CEO.
Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, Deputy CEO of the Corporation, Rajaindra Singh said that those three estates that are still grinding are those that had the most cane to take out of the field.
He said that to maximise harvesting opportunities, workers from Rose Hall and Skeldon are harvesting at Albion, while Blairmont harvesters are working at Enmore. He said too that workers from Uitvlugt are working to get the cane out at Wales Estate.
“We are hoping that with this, we will be able to get much of the cane out,” he said, adding that the corporation will continue to utilise this strategy for as long as the rains continue. He said the estates that have been closed early will be the first ones to open for the second crop.
Singh noted that two estates – Blairmont and Rose Hall – have exceeded their targets by 161 tonnes and 774 tonnes respectively, but that the labour turnout is still below expectations.
“We are still [seeing] a percentage of 50 or so turnout,” he said, adding that for some estates, it is even lower. He said that in addition to maximising opportunities for harvesting, worker-turnout is another reason for consolidating labour from the estates that have closed their operations. He said Blairmont has the best turnout of labour, because of the lack of alternative work in that locality.
Singh said the Corporation is being greatly assisted in its production drive by the cane farmers. “They are supporting us, especially at Wales,” he said, adding that the Corporation is even assisting some of the farmers in getting their cane from the fields to the factory.
Because of the rains, the semi-mechanical harvesters at Skeldon cannot work as they should and as a result of this, Skeldon had a shortfall of 23,000 tonnes.
Singh said that GuySuCo has the canes in the ground to potentially produce the additional 35,000 tonnes, but this will be dependent on a number of factors. He explained that the yield in the field is high. “We have achieved reaping of 75 percent of the crop but have already produced 78 percent of sugar,” Singh said.
“To date, we have shipped about 45,000 tonnes of sugar and we have a shipment leaving tonight (last night). This is not too bad, but we might have a slight shortfall in the first crop target of between 7,000 to 10,000 tonnes,” he added.
Turning to the financial health of the corporation, Singh said that Guysuco’s cash flow situation is good. “We hope that with our production we would be able to go through the out of crop period safely and without exposure,” he said.