THE Government of Guyana has not taken an official position on the future of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO), as it is still to examine the interim report submitted by the Commission of Inquiry (CoI). This is according to President David Granger, who was speaking to the Guyana Chronicle and Capitol News, during the recently televised Public Interest show at the Ministry of the Presidency.
Reports indicate that while the COI, which was led by Vibert Parvatan, recommended that there be no closure, it urged that the corporation be privatised.
But President Granger said “it is a recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry, it is certainly not the policy of the government at this time.”
He said while the sugar industry has been ailing for several years, his administration cannot afford to make any “hasty” decision without consulting with the representatives of the working people.
“We would certainly like the industry to survive; it is not a standalone industry. There might be some part of the industry which could be rehabilitated more quickly than other parts,” the President pointed out.
“It is not dead in the water; there is a lot of life left in the sugar industry, and as far as possible we need to reduce inefficiency, reduce cost and once we lower the cost of production we could aim at [other] markets,” he added.
President Granger further added that any talk about the death of the sugar industry is premature.
However, every sugar estate within the country is operating at a loss, as such, are heavily subsidised by the government.
Parvatan had told the press that the historical realisation of 300,000 tonnes of sugar is currently unachievable, since there are major challenges in achieving 220,000 tonnes.
It was explained that the cost to produce sugar in Guyana is three times higher than the world market price. Even as the world market price stands at approximately 13 cents per pound, GUYSUCO is producing sugar at a cost of 45 cents per pound.
The CoI Chairman had further pointed out that the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government was forced to pump over $17B into the industry in 2014 to facilitate the operational cost which had exceeded the revenue generated from sugar production.
(Svetlana Marshall)
