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Smaller-sized GuySuCo braces for major shortfall this year
Problems with factories have been blamed for the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) likely suffering from a major shortfall this year.
According to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), it has further revised its estimates based on recent developments.
The sugar industry is projected to fall short of this year’s target, GAWU says.
GAWU, the largest sugar workers’ union, pointed to a statement, where it had estimated that the industry’s performance until the week ending December 20 would see GuySuCo producing 67,653 tonnes sugar out of a 75,843-tonne target.
“At that time, we expected that Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt would have produced 34,187, 20,450 and 13,016 tonnes sugar respectively.”
However, recent performances have caused the union to review its estimates.
As at November 20, sugar production was 48,267 tonnes, or 27,486 tonnes short of the target.
The union said that GuySuCo has disclosed that Uitvlugt estate has sufficient canes to produce an additional 500 tonnes of sugar and its target has been revised.
However, based on the recent figures, GAWU said it is projecting 60,236 tonnes sugar for this crop as follows:-
Estate Production – 20/11/19 Estimated Production in weeks to 20/12/19 Second Crop production estimated Target Deficit
estimated
Albion 22,864 5,779 28,643 39,543 (10,900)
Blairmont 13,776 4,301 18,077 23,284 (5,207)
Uitvlugt 11,627 1,889 13,516 13,516 0
Total 48,267 11,969 60,236 75,843 (16,107)
“We understand that the Corporation is struggling very much with factory problems. At Albion it has been disclosed that this is the factory’s worst performance in the longest of time. In fact, the problems at that location are so acute, the Corporation has lost some three weeks of operations during this crop due to breakdowns. That is some 420 hours of downtime. At the other locations, the situation is not much better, with breakdown hours during this crop reaching 122 and 119 at Blairmont and Uitvlugt respectively.”
The union said that the situation has been especially hard for the workers.
The poor reliability of the factories has seen workers on many days not being offered work.
“This makes a bad situation worse, as they have been struggling with the declines in their nominal and real pay. The inability to work every day for them and their family, especially as they approach the year-end season, must be distressing. Nowadays we are no longer hearing the perennial cries of worker turnout, which really were a guise for poor production performances. Indeed, it appears, the chickens have come home to roost.”
GAWU said that the poor performance also means that canes available to harvest during the second crop cannot be harvested and will have to be reaped during next year.
“The cutting of canes beyond their maturity is almost a taboo in the industry, as those canes tend to experience declining returns. Moreover, such canes are also difficult for workers to harvest as they require additional efforts by them.”
According to the union, the performance of the factories brings into question the efficacy of the industry’s factory operations department.
“That department’s skills, we gathered, has been augmented in recent times as several new recruits were engaged. We hasten to wonder what have been their collective contributions in assuaging the situation and trying to bring some semblance of order in relation to the difficulties that are being faced at this time. The situation for the Union and the workers are very much concerning and disconcerting at the same time.”
The first crop fell short of the reported 33,863 tonnes, by 332 tonnes
GuySuCo, since 2015, has been reduced to three estates, with the Coalition Government insisting that seven estates were proving a major problem for the national treasury.
Four estates – Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales – are up for divestment and privatization.
Targets have dropped from over 200,000 tonnes to about 100,000 tonnes now annually.
Even this target is not being met.
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