In its end-of-year report, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco), reported that it faced a total of 63 strikes by its workers during 2021 and that resulted in the loss of 20,000 man-days.
The sugar company said those strikes cost the company over $740 million.
The company complained that in the month of October, which is one of the most favourable months for sugar production, it saw strikes for issues unrelated to the sugar company, including the payment of cash grants and flood relief by the government. The October strikes alone saw the company losing more than $350 million.
In the statement issued by Guysuco, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Saesnarine Singh announced that sugar production fell this year and the decline was mostly due to the floods in the early part of the year which led to swamped canefields.
The company produced just over 58,000 metric tonnes of sugar which is far below the 88,000 metric tonnes produced last year.
Despite the low production, the CEO said the Agriculture Team was able to strategize and re-focus on rehabilitating the fields that were damaged by the floods.
Some 4,300 Hectares of sugar canes were destroyed across the industry during the floods. Some 38% of the damaged fields were rehabilitated.
Guysuco continues to receive large subventions from the Government. Already for this year, over $6 Billion has been allocated to the company. A total of $7 Billion was allocated last year.
The government is hoping to turn around the fortunes of the company, despite its years of consistent decline.
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