Guyana will have first priority as sugar production unable to meet both local and foreign market demands

Guyana will have first priority as sugar production unable to meet both local and foreign market demands – CEO

Aug 07, 2022 News

By Zena Henry

Kaieteur News – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Sasenarine Singh, is assuring citizens that sugar will be available in-country, even as the company is unable to produce the requisite amounts needed to satisfy both its local and foreign export markets. Singh told Kaieteur News Thursday that Guyana will have priority in accessing sugar as talks of an extended commodity shortage rages on.

GuySuCo CEO, Sasenarine Singh

Singh said that for the second crop, the company will be producing over 40,000 metric tonnes of sugar. However, based on existing export contract commitments and the estimated amount of sugar needed for local consumption, the production will be inadequate. Singh noted, therefore, that sugar will not be exported unless an adequate amount of the commodity is available for citizens.

According to information received, Guyana has contracts with the United States to deliver, 18,000 tonnes of sugar, Trinidad & Tobago – 11,000 tonnes, St Vincent – 3,000 tonnes, St. Lucia – 1,000 tonnes; all of which total – 33,000 tonnes of sugar. Most recent data informs also that Guyana consumes around 24,000 tonnes of sugar per annum; bringing the required amount to cover local and foreign obligations to 57,000 tonnes of sugar. Minus export obligations from the projected production amount of 40,255 tonnes, some 7,255 tonnes of sugar will remain for in-country consumption.

Singh has claimed, however, that everything done in GuySuCo is about principles, “and one of our fundamental principles is Guyana first.” The CEO rhetorically asked why the company would be exporting sugar when Guyana is “my primary market.” “Nobody can force us to export,” the CEO added. “We have contracts based on availability. You don’t execute a contract if you don’t have availability. Our first priority is Guyana.” Singh said that GuySuCo has produced over 3,000 metric tons of sugar since the start of this crop and “we have sold all of it to Guyana. No amount of sugar has been shipped.”

The CEO went on to state that his ambition is to make sure that there is about 30,000 to 40,000 bags of sugar in the company bond for December for Christmas. “People got to mek their ginger beer and black cake and our mission is to make that happen,” the CEO highlighted. He noted too that there will be no in-country sugar shortage. “Right now… I have 7,000 bales of sugar at Blairmount in 2kg package; I have 8,000 bags of sugar at the other two estates in bags. So when you add that up its about 15,000 bags of sugar.”

Singh had told media operatives that some persons were hoarding and smuggling, particularly packaged sugar, out of the country thus contributing to the shortage. The CEO has insisted, however, that the company’s biggest challenge to increasing its production is the rain. He noted that 18 months of rain has affected the cane yields. “It is affecting us accessing these canes and getting them out on time.”

He related too that not having the requisite number of machines to prepare the land for cultivation is a humbug to increasing production. And even with the equipment, Singh said that the “platter, platter” mud is unsuitable for the company to conduct its ploughing work. “You can pick the mud up and rub it on your skin,” the CEO said. Tractors cannot work in those conditions. He explained that the ground must be “friable”; dry and stiff to work with.

For this year, G$6B was budgeted to support GuySuCo with Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha criticising statements from the parliamentary opposition that the money would be wasted on the ailing sector, during his budget debate earlier in the year. He had stated that “… when we invest another $6 billion, we will create more jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, and we will help tens of thousands of families, and we will put into the village economy more cash and thousands of people are benefitting, not only the sugar workers, but people who live in the community and will depend on the sugar industry indirectly.”

Government has nonetheless rolled out an elaborate programme to provide part time jobs that will include sugar workers from the Uitvlugt and Wales estates. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had even told Uitvlugt sugar workers to seek employment in other sectors if they wanted to transition from sugar, given the issues being faced in the industry. On Saturday, the VP again met with workers from both estates to provide more information on the part-time employment where they will work 10 days for $40,000. Cash grants and other support were also promised to the workers. From a supplementary sum of $44,794,011,175, which the administration expects to be passed in parliament tomorrow, the government wants an additional $3.4B for GuySuCo.