Dear Editor,
The disappointment expressed by your correspondent (‘It is shocking that Guyana produced less sugar than Jamaica and Belize in Jan 2011’ SN, March 7) regarding Guyana’s sugar production in January 2011 reflects a palpable ignorance of the industry’s operations.
Had he checked the records the latter would have learnt that Guyana’s sugar industry does not normally operate in January. Its out-of-crop period, but in exceptional circumstances, runs from mid-December to about mid-to-late February of the following year, when the first crop starts.
January 2011 production has in fact become necessary because of exceptional circumstances, including the reported acreage of cane left standing from the last crop.
Incidentally, for the information of your correspondent, Guyana is the only territory in Caricom that operates two crops. So that without going into the ramifications of the obvious differentials between the sugar-producing territories, there could be no basis for the hasty comparison made.
Yours faithfully,
E B John
