President asks for report on all-time low sugar output, despite multi-billion dollar subsidies

Last Updated on Thursday, 7 November 2024, 22:29 by Writer

President Irfaan Ali has instructed Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha to meet with representatives of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the workers’ union and other stakeholders to ascertain the cause of the worst sugar production output in history, despite the government pumping billions of dollars in the virtually paralysed industry.

Mr Jagdeo indicated that he had learnt that GuySuCo’s position was that it has expanded cultivation and would produce 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes this year. “Clearly, that is below their target so the Minister of Agriculture has to explain to the President why they are under-performing on their target and give a credible explanation,” the Vice President said.

GuySuCo has refused to respond to concerns by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) about the all-time low output and the reasons for the dismal performance. The Chief Executive Officer Paul Cheong and the Public Relations Department had on two separate occasions failed to issue a promised statement.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Dr Ali was awaiting a report from the Agriculture Minister after the meeting with GuySuCo management and “a number of other people who have an interest or knowledge about sugar to get a report back to him.”

The parliamentary opposition A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change, and the Working People’s Alliance has accused the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration of pumping more than GY$30 billion into GuySuCo without any returns. But, Mr Jagdeo said the corporation was spending a lot of money on major conversion of beds to mechanisation aimed at increasing output in the future.

He said new cane varieties were being brought in from Brazil and possibly Cuba to increase yield.

The corporation, he said, was suffering from some delayed maintenance and “some management issues.”

GAWU on October 28 said while GuySuCo’s overall production target was approximately 70,000 tonnes, as of October 26, 2024, GuySuCo produced 24,711 tonnes or just 39% of its second crop target of 63,276 tonnes. On top of that, the privately-owned Stabroek News newspaper on Monday reported that the corporation’s 2023 Annual Report, which was presented to the Office of the Auditor General, shows a GY$4.7 billion loss and a subsidy of GY$15 billion from government. Already, the corporation has recorded sagging losses of GY$7.8 billion in 2021 and GY$10.2 billion in 2022.

A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Shadow Agriculture Minister, Vinceroy Jordan backed the WPA’s call for another Commission of Inquiry. At the same time, he believed that the APNU+AFC’s closure of the Wales, East Demerara, Rose Hall and Skeldon estates in 2016 and 2017 was the best option to turn around the industry.

Mr Jordan attributed the all-time slump in sugar production to poor land management including failure to rest the land to acquire nutrients, and bad mechanisation practices. He said all of those flaws were compounded by premature harvesting of canes, resulting in less sugar production.

He said the all-time low production has to be calculated from the initial target of 100,000 tonnes, rather than the revised and now unmet target of just over 60,000 tonnes.