A partnership between the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has created an avenue for an increase in the exportation of rice and rice products, as the southern bond of the Demerara Sugar Terminal, Ruimveldt, will soon be available for this purpose.
This symbiosis between two of the major players in Guyana’s agriculture sector forms part of GuySuCo’s five-year strategic plan, which is guiding the operations of the sugar industry.
The facility, which will be utilised as a result of this partnership, was moth-balled between 2016 and 2017, when four sugar estates were shuttered by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government.
According to a recent press statement from GuySuCo, the southern section of the terminal will be resuscitated and restored to its former glory.
The northern bond will continue to be used exclusively for bulk sugar export as has been the case since the closure of the four sugar estates a few years ago.
“Several critical conveyors systems and motors have to be rehabilitated to implement the elements of the strategic plan and to action this new collaborative relationship with the GRDB.
“The bills of quantity are now being prepared to estimate cost of this project and that information will be submitted to the leadership at GuySuCo, the Ministry of Agriculture and the GRDB shortly,” GuySuCo said.
The Demerara Sugar Terminal was built in the 1960s and is strategically located on the East Bank of the Demerara River and has a prime berthing facility of just over 130 meters in length and seven-meter draft at high tide.
The average operating cost to keep these facilities operational between 2017 and 2021 was approximately $110 million per year.
“The corporation would like to note that such a cost has been unsustainable since the closure of these four sugar estates in a much smaller sugar belt that only exported 33,117 tonnes in 2021 and produced only 58,025 tonnes in the same year after the worst floods in 40 years,” the sugar corporation said.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GuySuCo, Sasenarine Singh, said: “This visit by the Hon. Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Zulfikar Mustapha, to the sugar terminal on January 12, 2021, to survey how the Ministry of Agriculture can assist in the fast tracking of this collaboration between the rice and sugar industry is a welcomed development.”
He added: “The outcome of these partnerships will only redound to the benefit of all and especially those in the sugar industry, as it shares the cost of managing the sugar terminal and multiply the benefits to the country.”
The CEO further said: “The Guyana Sugar Corporation looks forward to working closely with the Guyana Rice Milling Association and the Guyana Rice Development Board in bringing this project to reality.”
