…Govt to close Rose Hall, Enmore operations
Government has announced plans to close two sugar estates, reduce the annual production of sugar, and take on the responsibility of managing the drainage and irrigation services offered by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) as part of a new policy for the sugar industry. 
This announcement was made by Agriculture Minister Noel Holder on Monday when he presented a white paper on the future of the industry to Parliament. Holder told the National Assembly that by the end of 2017, the Corporation would have three estates and three sugar factories.
These estates are: Blairmont on the West Bank of Berbice, Albion-Rose Hall in East Berbice and the Uitvlugt-Wales Estate in West Demerara. The three estates will be complete with factories and will have cane supplied from all locations, according to the Minister.
The Agriculture Minister claimed that this process would result in improving the relationship with some cane cutters, estate staff and about 1710 private cane farmers, adding that GuySuCo’s sugar operations will be limited to the Albion-Rose Hall, Blairmont and Uitvlugt-Wales Estates.
“Albion and Rose Hall Estates’ cultivation will be amalgamated. This will result in the closure of the Rose Hall factory at the end of 2017. Some lands will be made available for diversification purposes. The Enmore factory will be closed at the end of 2017 when all cane would be harvested. The East Coast Estates would be earmarked for diversification,” Holder added.
Shifting his attention to the Skeldon Estate, Holder said plans were in place to have the Estate sold. The funds generated from this would go towards reducing the Corporation’s debt and supporting its capital programmes for both sugar and the diversification initiatives.
The Minister believes that these adjustments mean that GuySuCo would be scaled down into an entity that focuses on producing sugar to satisfy the domestic and foreign markets that provide preferential access to local sugar. This entails taking advantage of the opportunity to merge what he described as “better performing lands to operate factories more efficiently”.
Reduced production
Holder also revealed plans to cut sugar production to approximately 147,000 tonnes per annum. This, according to him, will satisfy the demand in the local market (25,000 tonnes per annum); Caricom and other regional markets (50,000-60,000 tonnes per annum); the United States (12,500 tonnes per annum) and the world market (50,000 tonnes per annum).
“Focus would be on producing for direct consumption value-added sugars and providing electricity to the national grid (co-generation),” he added.
Apart from restructuring the estates and factories, GuySuCo also plans to change the State charges for the drainage and irrigation and health services that it provides to the communities.
“Recovery of drainage and irrigation charges will be made from the Government of Guyana. GuySuCo, from the inception, has been assisting with the drainage and irrigation of surrounding communities. This has allowed for approximately 40 per cent of GuySuCo’s annual drainage and irrigation costs,” he stated.
As part of these changes, Government will allow the Corporation the option to make transferrals to the Government or recovery of costs from the Government. GuySuCo currently operates a number of health centres and dispensaries in the Berbice and Demerara areas.
Employment of labour
Meanwhile, in addressing the fears of many people working within the industry, Holder affirmed that GuySuCo would retain as many workers as needed for all operations on the merged estates and factories.
“Employees are to be leased land by GuySuCo to engage in crops (crop types to be decided by GuySuCo and the Ministry of Agriculture)…GuySuCo also proposes to surrender land for lease to employees for them to engage in agricultural production. The resources that exist under the “Green Economy” and “Regional Food Self-Sufficiency” drive would support their efforts.”
A decision was taken last year to close Wales Factory, on the West Bank of Demerara. The operations have since partially been integrated with Uitvlugt Estate’s. However, workers attached to the now defunct estate are still awaiting full payment of severance benefits.
A Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into GuySuCo had recommended that the Corporation be privatised within three years. It also recommended that a serious evaluation of all diversification options be conducted to avoid total reliance on sugar for GuySuCo’s revenues.
Sugar has remained one of the biggest foreign currency earners, along with rice and gold, in Guyana.
