Punt dumper will not increase productivity at GuySuCo

Dear Editor,
GuySuCo CEO Sase Singh announced that Government has provided G$400M for the acquisition of a punt dumper at Albion. The other two estates, Blairmont and Uitvlugt, have punt dumpers to load the cane. Albion uses slings.
No sugar producing country in the world uses punt dumper. There is a deficit of knowledge and experience at GuySuCo on sugar production, including on punt dumping and slings and agronomy. GuySuCo should consult agronomists and engineers on increasing productivity, not just accountants and financial analysts.
There are advantages and disadvantages of each method of loading the cane. Suffice it to say that slings are more cost effective and advantageous for Albion. It has been working well; no need to change it at this time! Attention and funding should be focused on increased cane productivity, because there is not enough cane to feed Albion or any of the factories. That is why production for this crop is only 97K tons of sugar out of a potential 150K tons, a shortfall of some 53K tons.
Why invest $400M on an equipment that does not increase productivity? Is there a commission fee?
Production of cane and availability of labour are the critical issues now. Cane is not produced in an air-conditioned office, or in an SUV, or on accounting books, or liming in a brand-new swimming pool, or upgraded estate lodging.
Why is there not a focus to improve cultivation, instead of pumping money on capitalisation of equipment and management personnel and perks? Where is the data that drives this punt dumper decision? How would a punt dumper benefit Albion, and by extension GuySuCo?
The three estates can, in theory, produce 150K tons sugar. We are short from potential by 53K tons, which would have generated an additional G$5B income. Isn’t it wise to spend the $400M in order to earn the $5B? Why the inclination of a punt dumper for $400M in an ailing industry? What are the benefits and or merits of the punt dumper?
Decisions must be data-driven. Here are the facts: A punt dumper at Skeldon and the other two estates are 110 tons per hour. Albion slings can upload 160 tons per hour. Which is more efficient?
The CEO reportedly stated that the punt dumper at Albion would upload 168 tons per hour. So $400M is being spent to increase the load by 8 tons. And it is not possible to upload 168 tons, as the system does not allow for it. Right now, the other estates are having difficulty to increase upload to 120 tons per hour. How will Albion do 168 tons?
In the punt dumping system, if there is a hiccup, punt dumping is stopped and all the punts are stuck in the canal until the system is fixed. Empty punts are not available to be released back to the fields. In the sling system, if there is a hiccup, the punt cane is loaded onto a dock/bin yard area for storage and the punts are released back to the fields.
So, the punt dumper for Albion will not add any benefit to factory production or efficiency of loading cane onto punts in the fields.
The benefits of punt dumping must not be confined to punt cleaning and eliminating sling chains. The benefits must be in enhancing sugar production.
Clearly, a punt dumper has nothing to do with increased sugar production. Sugar can only be improved with scientific agricultural techniques and skilled, experienced management.
When the industry makes very bad decisions, it becomes very costly. In this case, the bad decision is expending $400M that will not bring benefits. Worse, production will decline substantially; GuySuCo will lose at least $1B a year from the punt dumper. So instead of increasing revenues, GuySuCo will lose money, over two times of what it would have invested in the punt dumper.
When will GuySuCo executives stop making bad decisions?
With good management at GuySuCo and scientific intervention of cane planting and good agronomic practices, that $400M at Albion would increase production and the industry would improve its chance of reaching 150K tons of sugar with an additional $5B in income. That $5B additional revenue would completely transform the industry, making it more efficient, reducing tons cane tons sugar ratio (TCTS), creating more jobs, and so many other benefits.

Yours truly,
Dharmendra Lalji