–-Dr Ramsammy

AGRICULTURE Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has said that continued favourable weather has assisted sugar production to remain on pace, and production now stands at 22,500 tonnes as at last Friday.

“This validates what I have been saying; that if we have good weather, the same workers, the same factories, and the same management are capable of meeting our targets,” he said.

“This is very encouraging, and I am looking forward for the continuation of the present good weather… If we can have eight to ten weeks more of good weather, then I see GuySuCo producing a very good first crop,” he confided.

“The critics of the industry fail to take into consideration this major impediment, and we have to work to address… In the last few years, the one major single factor affecting sugar has been the weather,” Dr Ramsammy declared.

The target for the first crop, which ends in May/June, is some 70,000 tonnes. “Hopefully, the weather holds, and we can meet our target,” Minister Ramsammy said.

Guyana used to have, on a regular basis, two wet and two dry seasons of a particular length, but that has changed. Sugar requires a period of 14 to 20 weeks of completely dry weather during grinding.

“There are changes that have to be made, and in the long-term strategy, the changes will have to take into consideration the fact that the regular grinding season has to respond to the weather challenges,” Dr Ramsammy said, as he stressed that all efforts are being made to address the industry’s challenges.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will be getting a new board, led by a new chairperson, who has already been identified.
The life of the present board was extended to June. Subsequently, the matter was discussed at the level of the Cabinet, and it was agreed that a new board would be established with several new members.

The sugar industry’s target for 2014 is 216,000 tonnes, with a projection that the sector would reach its 400,000-tonne goal by 2020.

(By Vanessa Narine)