Guyana should brace for more sugar shortage - source

Guyana should brace for more sugar shortage – source

Jul 29, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – With the agreements already in place for a significant quota of Guyana’s sugar to be exported and sold on the world market, locals are likely to experience further sugar shortages for the rest of the year.

Empty supermarket shelves reflect the sugar shortage

This is according to a source attached to the sugar industry. The report comes amidst reports of dwindling production rates, widespread scarcity of the commodity on the local market and the country’s commitment to its export market.

Kaieteur News understands that while GuySuCo’s production quota for the second half of the year is set at around 40,000 metric tons, it may very well be unable to adequately satisfy local consumption. Domestic use of the sweetener is set at around 12,000 metric tonnes. According to a GuySuCo report for May 2022, the corporation has already signed agreements to have the sweetener exported to several foreign ports. These include the historical commitment to provide the United States with some 18,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) of sugar; St. Lucia at 1000 MT; St. Vincent and the Grenadines at 3000MT, and Trinidad and Tobago at 11,000M. With a 33,000MT total in sales, what is left; 7,000 MT makes Guyana 5,000 MT short of the commodity for local consumption.

GuySuCo’s marketing report of May 2022, which was released last June also reflects a dip in sales both locally and to the Caribbean countries.

Nevertheless, the report outlined that the corporation has secured new clients in Suriname. The first shipment of one container was expected to leave by the end of April 2022. According to the report, GuySuCo also secured new clients for bagged and packaged sugar in French Guiana, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad, but the company was unable to fill the requests owing to the Uitvlugt Estate being out of operation and the Blairmont Estate filling the void on the local markets.

The report outlined that Barbados has also expressed interest in the sachet and packaged sugar. The information comes even as local distributors, small businesses and consumers alike, continue to complain bitterly about the shortage of the sweetener locally but GuySuCo has been maintaining there is no shortage in the bulk, only of packaged sugar.

However, one frustrated distributor has pushed by against GuySuCo’s claims. He explained that he usually purchases a weekly quota from the sugar factory but he has been put on a wait list for six weeks. “They [GuySuCo] is making me wait for six weeks and when they finish, they are only giving me 25 percent of my order. So, I want the public to know that the factory is only trying to fool people. Everybody, seeing it as clear as day that sugar is not there on the shelves.”

The businessman noted too that the Sugar Corporation has been meeting with distributors and telling them that only certain categories of people will be given preferential treatment.

The distributor revealed, “At the meeting, they are telling us that we need to hold off on the orders because they are looking at three categories of customers that is the manufacturers, the bakery and the supermarkets. Everybody else has to wait.”

He continued, “I don’t think they understand the impact this shortage has on businesses like mine or on the working class and poorer class consumers. They are saying that there is price gouging but they are causing it! And in the end, is the poor man who will suffer.”

He nonetheless called on GuySuCo to take steps to contain the situation before it gets out-of-hand.

Earlier this month, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GuySuCo, Sasenarine Singh had published a video on social media refuting a shortage of bulk sugar countrywide. He however confirmed that there is a shortage of the packaged sugar on the local market.

But while the CEO insists that there is no shortage of sugar across the country, the Bank of Guyana in its quarterly report stated that this year there were decreases in the production of sugar by 47.7 percent. The decrease recorded this year by the Bank was attributed to the halt in grinding at the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate, caused by mechanical issues, which impacted production, as this estate was responsible for 25 percent of output. As reported on, the Uitvlugt Estate was down since March due to mechanical issues of its #1Mill turbine gearbox. The gearbox had to be replaced with a new one from overseas.

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