With the government declaring earlier this year that 2025 will be the year when the Guyana Sugar Corporation will start to realize its quarterly targets and turn around its fortunes, the sugar corporation is already reporting that it has missed it first crop target by more than 19,000 metric tonnes.
GuySuCo recorded its worst sugar production in history in 2024, but with hopes that 2025 would be a better year as more than $13 Billion was pumped into the industry in this year’s budget.
In a statement on Monday evening, Guysuco sought to clarify a number of issues that were raised about its operations and confirmed that it has performed poorly for the first crop.
The company said its first crop production stands at 15,980 metric tonnes but wants that number to be analysed in the context of the prevailing circumstances and not be attributed to lack of leadership by the CEO.
According to the company, its Uitvlugt estate recorded 74 more tonnes that projected for the first crop, but it did not state the performances for the other estates for the same period.
However, the company is now saying that the weather has been affecting its strategic decisions.
“Heavy and persistent rainfall severely negatively impacted the harvesting schedule, factory efficiency and field access. Recorded rain fall has significantly surpassed the long-term average with Berbice estates recording 212% and Demerara 160% of the established long-term mean (LTM) with 53% of the available days being classified as wet days,” the Sugar corporation stated.
The Sugar Corporation also blames labour shortage for its shortfall.
“Guysuco, like many agricultural enterprises globally, is grappling with declining labour availability. This is not a new issue and certainly Mr. Cheong’s (the CEO) doing. The Corporation has embarked on mechanization, not only to fill the labour gap but to improve cost efficiency over time,” GUYSCUO said in a statement.
According to the release, Guysuco has started the diversification of revenue, improve packaging, branding and market access to reposition Guyana’s sugar.
It says it is planning for the commencement of the second crop by reviewing timelines, field operations and logistics to recover as much as possible from the canes that will be carried over.
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