The required amount of cane to run the US$185M Skeldon sugar factory at top capacity won’t be available until 2012.
This was revealed in a press release this afternoon by the Guyana Sugar Corporation. Varying dates have been given by sugar and government officials in the past on when there would be a sufficient amount of cane from both private farmers and the state-owned sugar estate to feed the troubled Chinese-built factory.
Observers have pointed to the evident lack of proper planning for this massive project where around three years after the factory has been installed there is still not enough cane to supply it.
The release today also said that the Skeldon factory’s production this year has surpassed last year’s as the crop draws to a close. However, both the old and new factories were in operation last year. Further, the production for this year of 30,522 tonnes is still well below the budgeted figure. Last year’s production was 25,715 tonnes.
