Blairmont Estate to focus on foreign exports

-Enmore facility to supply local markets.

As Government forges ahead to restart operations at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Chief Executive Officer (Ag.), Mr. Sasenarine Singh, says the Blairmont Estate will focus exclusively on exporting packaged sugar while the Enmore location will supply local markets.

The CEO made these statements during a press briefing at the Blairmont Sugar Estate on Wednesday.

Mr. Singh said work is ongoing on a business turnaround plan that aims to provide more efficient ways to process sugar. Two consultants were selected to assist Mr. Singh on the project. 

Further, to enhance procurement, the CEO said GuySuCo will be examining the field, factories and the cane transportation route to ensure that these elements bring greater value to the Corporation in the short term.

“We will rebuild the sugar industry brick by brick and prove to those people who want to destroy it that it is workable,” CEO Singh said.  

Currently, GuySuCo produces packaged, bagged and bulk sugar. The Corporation does not make a profit on bulk sugar and intends to halt this operation to focus on more value-added products, the CEO said.  In this regard, it is pursuing a public-private partnership to maximise investment.

“We are going to win this battle by selling sugar at the right price level, and the other way we are going to win is by looking at the cost chain and ensure that we identify what are the value-added costs, and celebrate them and the ones that are not adding value; we are going to make them our enemy,” Mr. Singh said.

Th CEO recalled that approximately three years ago GuySuCo handed over to the National and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) several functioning pieces of machinery for cane production but, “what we got back was several bits and pieces of scrap iron. It is the greatest loss of value across the industry in the history of GuySuCo over the last three years. It is a national crime and those responsible for this national crime must be exposed.”

Mr. Singh is convinced that GuySuCo was one of the greatest contributors to the development of Guyanese and support must be given to restart and modernise the industry.  The Government has allocated $3 billion to revitalise the sugar industry. Of that sum, $2.2 billion will be set aside to reopen the three estates and another $.8 billion will go towards recapitalising the current estates.