GuySuCo continues to baffle Guyanese

Jan 30, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
Kaieteur News article of 29th January 2009, captioned, “GuySuCo set to import sugar”, from Guatemala within the coming days is a cause for serious concern. It’s incomprehensible that a company that invests approximately US$200M in a new state-of-the-art factory would import sugar for local consumption.
The last time that sugar was imported, I believe, was in 1990 when production was at an all-time low of 129,000 tonnes. It was also imported from Guatemala, and there was a public outrage on the quality of the sugar. In this instance, GuySuCo is assuring the consumers that the quality would be in accordance with CARICOM standard on brown sugar. What this means is anyone’s guess. The main reasons given for the decision to import sugar are the late start of the first crop and the anticipated drop in sugar production this year mainly attributed to the heavy rainfall experienced since November last year. In the circumstance, the company should disclose what the closing stock of sugar was at the end of last year, and the forecast for local sales up to the period that the factories are expected to start. The company should also disclose whether any of the sugar from the closing stock was sold to any CARICOM state.
The statement by the said article that “as part of the restructuring of the sugar industry, several managers have been sent packing with the CEO also tendering his resignation” is plainly wrong. Nobody was sent packing; but on the contrary it’s reported from close quarters that those that were replaced were all assigned to better paying jobs. There are conflicting reports from the media on whether the CEO, Nick Jackson, a representative of the Booker Tate outfit, has resigned to take up an assignment elsewhere. Notwithstanding, whatever is the reason for him demitting office, with him being replaced there should certainly be an air of hope that the company’s performance would improve, since under his command production precipitously slumped from 330,000 tonnes in 2004 to 225,000 last year (the second lowest since 1990).
It’s quite baffling to many that despite the company’s dismal performance within recent years, not once has the government or the Minister of Agriculture for that matter openly criticised Booker Tate for the poor state of the sugar industry.
Sham Persaud

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