Guysuco’s would like to remind the nation; it is a business

Nov 12, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) would like to respond to Mr. Hydar Ally’s letter that was published in the both the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News in which he opined that Government should reconsider its position re; the sugar industry.
Mr. Ally’s letter was lacking in terms of bringing a scientific perspective and positing an approach that would enable GuySuCo to become a resilient and sustainable business. In his letter, he urged the Government not to downsize the sugar industry in the interest of the workers, the economy as a whole and for historical/sentimental reasons. His solution for the sugar industry was for the Government to continue to invest in the sugar industry to increase production and productivity thereby reducing its unit cost and returning to profitability. He further stated that it was the Government’s responsibility to rescue the sugar industry. While Mr. Ally’s letter mainly addressed the Government, we wish to provide the following points of clarification.
First of all, the Corporation wishes to remind Mr. Ally that GuySuCo is a business, therefore any analysis, strategic thinking/planning or conversation on the entity, going forward, has to be around how to make it resilient, sustainable and profitable. Many persons, who are a part of the conversation on GuySuCo, are still very much at the emotional level and are more engrossed with the sentiments of the sugar industry. However, the challenges of GuySuCo cannot be addressed with emotions and sentiments only. The following are real facts about GuSuCo and areas that must be considered in re-organising the Corporation.
GuySuCo’s current cost of production is around US 37 cents per pound while sugar prices are approximately US 20 cents per pound; this is an 85% disparity. Employment cost alone, is in the region of US 21cents per pound. Further, with the abolition of the European Union (EU) sugar quota on 30 September, 2017, there may be a further decline in sugar prices widening this disparity. In order to overcome this, not only would significant investment be required in the industry to increase productivity and production, but a radical re-organization of its current structure. The Corporation cannot expect to continue to carry on business as usual and expect better results.
With the abolition of the EU sugar quota, Guyana would have to dispose significant tonnages of sugar on the enlarged world market. The prices are uncertain and as such, the returns are uncertain. This in turn will affect the planning for and development of the country as a whole. This brings us back to the same point that Mr. Ally indirectly made of the time when sugar was profitable while the other sectors were not, Guyana therefore should not have all of its eggs in one basket. GuySuCo being a single crop entity has placed the business and its stakeholders in an extremely vulnerable position. Thus, the diversification concept is an approach being implemented in the business strategy of the Corporation to ensure its resilience and to move towards a position of profitability. The Corporation in its short, medium and long term strategic planning, has to build more predictability and a greater degree of certainty into the business. – both the business of sugar and the business which includes diversification.
Sugar production is a very labour intensive process and therefore requires a large workforce, specifically for planting, crop husbandry, harvesting, and factory operations. Over the years, however, the Corporation has been struggling with consistency in the workforce in these areas, particularly in agriculture operations. If a full complement of planters and crop husbandry workers do not turn out, this will affect the number of hectares being cultivated and maintained. On the other hand, if the harvesters do not turn out, this result in canes over maturing, staling if already burnt, carrying over to the next crop and ultimately, affecting sugar production.
Table 1 below represents the turnout of Planters at five Estates for the First and Second Crop in 2016 while Table 2 represents the turnout of Harvesters at six Estates for the First and Second Crop in 2016.

Table 1
Planters’ percentages for attendance for First and Second Crop 2016

Table 2

Harvesters’ percentages for attendance for First and Second Crop 2016

The Corporation has also found that during periods when there is a boom in the forestry or mining sectors, the attendance in the planting and harvesting areas decline significantly.

Audreyanna Thomas

Senior Communications Officer

Communications Unit

Editor’s note; Guysuco’s response is a long one. It will be continued in tomorrow’s edition

1 thoughts on “Guysuco’s would like to remind the nation; it is a business”

Devil's advocate November 12, 2016 at 11:18 pm

Dear Ms Thomas, two most important issues the corporation must revisit:
(i) Harvesters (cane cutters) remunerations must be adjusted to encourage better attendance. The current system of weight (tonage) asessment in measuring cane cutters performance must be abandoned and more equitable system put in place. This is an arcaic union (MPCA) METHOD THAT HAS OUTLIVED ITS USEFULNESS.
(ii) The absence of a disciplined work culture, especially field workers, compounded with theft of corporation’s resources and materials (fertilizers/chemicals) must be arrested. GuySuCo’s tolerance of compensating workers full day’s pay for less than half-day’s work is social benefits for political gains. This is a government responsibility not a corporation’s.