GRINDING at the East Demerara Estates and at Skeldon on the Corentyne is continuing during this first crop for 2014, and Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy told this newspaper that 80,000 tonnes of sugar, a figure that is more than the 74,000 tonnes targeted, is within sight.

He said, “In the first crop, we catered for 74,000 tonnes, but because we have had good weather for most of the crop, we were able to meet the target and surpass it. At the end of May 15, we were close to 78,000 tonnes. We are still grinding at the East Demerara and Skeldon estates. We are going to get close to 80,000 tonnes for this first crop.”
According to him, the production for the first crop was “more in keeping” with the years when the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) sugar production was relatively good.

Ramsammy added that the challenge right now is ensuring that the sugar canes in the fields are ready and the next crop starts early enough, weather permitting, to meet the 2014 target of 218,000 tonnes.

“Up to early December or so, we should easily surpass the 218,000 tonnes’ target, once we have good weather,” he said.

REALISTIC TARGET
Minister Ramsammy also stressed that the target for the first crop, and the overall annual target, was a realistic one.

He said, “While people say it was a low target to begin with, it is a realistic target and not a target that was easily attainable, given all the conditions.

“When GuySuCo was setting targets of 248,000 and 238,000 tonnes, etc., our critics said it was too high and not realistic. The fact is that it does not matter what target we set, there are those who will find it wrong and will criticise…. The production we are seeing is a good sign for GuySuCo.”

Dr Ramsammy explained that the attainment of 218,000 tonnes will be dependent on the weather.
He said, “We believe we have enough cane in the fields to give us at least 218,000 tonnes. If the weather cooperates, we might be able to get more.

“For the first crop, what we did was to set a target that took into consideration the impact of the weather conditions over the last two to three years; because while everyone was looking at our production, the thing about bad weather is that it could impact what happens one and two years from now.

“Because this is agricultural production, when you have bad weather, it affects your ability to prepare the fields and plant the cane, etc. So how much sugar we are able to produce in any crop depends on how much sugar cane is available.

“So while the focus has been on how much we produce, no one focused on how much cane we were able to prepare in the field. The bad weather has an impact.”
Minister Ramsammy also told the Guyana Chronicle that GuySuCo is currently looking at replanting, which will affect next year’s production.

“Our replanting is a bit better than it was last year, and for next year we should have a good bumper crop to produce more sugar…if we manage, we can go back to normal kinds of production.”

Ramsammy expressed optimism going forward.

The sugar industry is projected to record an improvement of 15.6 percent in output to 215,910 tonnes in 2014, and a whopping allocation of $6B has been made to the sector in the 2014 Budget, given the industry’s important role in national development.

Among the measures to be undertaken to ensure a turnaround of the industry, which the allocation addresses, are: increased production and lower cost of production; diversified target markets, and expansion of value added production in order to survive.

In 2013, sugar exports accounted for 8.3 percent of total exports valued at US$112.2M, and the industry contributed 3.9 percent of the country’s GDP.
Written By Vanessa Narine