The Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) said it recorded a production of 266,462 tonnes of sugar last year, 2.6% above the previous year’s output and it says it is aiming for over 300,000 tonnes this year.

In a press release Guysuco said the Berbice Estates contributed 166,357 tonnes and the Demerara Estates produced 100,125 tonnes. The eight grinding factories produced the following quantities Skeldon: 27,739 tonnes, Albion: 59,925 tonnes, Rose Hall: 39,928 tonnes, Blairmont: 38,765 tonnes, Enmore: 32,248 tonnes, LBI: 27,228 tonnes, Wales: 26,428 tonnes and Uitvlugt: 14,222 tonnes. In 2006, the Corporation produced 259,550 tonnes of sugar but has been consistently aiming for 300,000+ and with the new Skeldon factory coming on stream this year will be looking for a much better performance.

The industry was hit by several damaging strikes last year and unrest over a variety of issues including the Annual Production Incentive at a crucial time towards the end of the crop.

Guysuco said last year it met all of its European Union (EU) and United States bulk sugar commitments; supplying 181,357 and 12,500 tonnes respectively, to those markets.

Additionally, about 60,000 tonnes of direct consumption bagged and packaged sugar was exported and sold locally with new markets developed for packaged sugar in St Croix, Suriname, Barbados and St Kitts and for bagged sugar in Australia and New Zealand.

It said too that funding from the EU for upgrading the Enmore factory and building a new packaging plant was also secured and the project will get underway this year. This will allow the Corporation to expand its capacity for the production of high quality direct consumption sugars.

In December, Guysuco commissioned the diesel powered component of the Co-generation Unit of the Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project (SSMP) which now provides a reliable source of electricity to the national grid. Work continued apace with the construction of the factory and the preparation of land at the SSMP, heralding the operations of the most modern state-of-the-art sugar plant in the region.

The release said Guysuco anticipated continuing improvements in productivity and attendance and reduced strike action this year.