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Sugar industry at crossroads, major decisions to be made – Agri Minister

Apr 16, 2009 News

The interim board of Directors of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) on Tuesday handed over the strategic blueprint for the period 2009–2013 to Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud.
The presentation was done by Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Nanda Gopaul.
Gopaul told the gathering that the Board believes that the sugar industry can survive and has a future in Guyana despite recent hiccups.
According to him, it is necessary that the future of the sugar industry be secured because the economic well-being of Guyana is going to be affected if the sugar industry does not prosper the way it is anticipated.
Therefore, he added, they have to put emphasis on the management of the industry.
“We believe that there has been some neglect at the management level of the industry and while we can say sometimes disruptive activities by workers, we are hoping that we will be able to rationalise and build a relationship that will allow for discipline because we have to maximize on the opportunity days.”
Dr. Gopaul added that the industry is losing more and more opportunities days due to bad weather and that it can ill afford to lose opportunity days due to strikes, especially when strikes are in breach of procedures and are triggered by management inaction.
“We believe that the partners in the industry – the managers, workers and the unions will have to work to eradicate the level of strikes we have seen in the industry.
“We’ll have to all work together to eradicate those problem areas which bedevil the industry.”
According to him, in maximizing the opportunity days, the management will have an important role to play and it is for that reason the board and the new CEO are working to develop capacity at every level in the industry.
“We have had meetings with all the senior managers and the CEO is moving around all the locations. The board has met with some of the managers at different locations also.
“We are going to hold them accountable and when targets are set they must ensure that those targets are achievable and that the cultivation is not allowed to go in neglect that has been happening and that was the story of the past.”
He added that they have found neglect on the part of some estate managers and some of the managers have been disciplined, some have gone on retirement, and some have been reassigned where their skills are best suited.
According to Dr. Gopaul, the management has seen the constant decline of the industry since 2004 and believes that an industry as important as this one must be resuscitated and revamped with all the vigor and the resources to ensure its viability and its continued success.
Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, said that the reasons provided by management for declining production and its cash crunch included cut in the price of sugar on the European market, abnormally high rainfall over the past four and a half years, loss of skills and experience, and limited capital spending.
“The industry is at the crossroads and major decisions have to be made now to ensure its survival and return to profitability.”
He also said that the difficulties confronting the industry come at a time when the global economy is in turmoil.
“Guyana cannot escape the fallout and there will be increasing and competing demands placed on the resources of our Treasury.”
According to the Minister, simply pumping cash into GuySuCo is not a viable solution. GuySuCo’s cost base is unaffordable, more so in light of the very significant reduction in the price of sugar sold to the EU market, which used to be Guyana’s most lucrative market.
“(The year) 2010 will see the full year effect of the 36 per cent reduction in the EU sugar price which amounts to some $9 billion. To allow the status quo to continue would destroy the industry.”

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