Having recently met representatives of the local private sector and policy makers here, Jamaican economist Dr Christopher Tufton says he is mulling proposals for foreign investors in sugar, rice and finance among other areas.
Tufton, a former Minister of Agriculture in Jamaica, led a delegation here in January, which included a representative of the Sugar Company of Jamaica Limited. The Sugar Company of Jamaica Limited is a subsidiary of the China-owned Complant International Sugar Industry Co Ltd. The delegation met members of government and the Private Sector Commission.
“Specific areas of interests include agriculture; rice and sugar etcetera mining, infrastructure, and finance,” Tufton told Stabroek News.
While he would not say which investor he is representing, Tufton said the investor was examining joint ventures or sole investment. The former Jamaican government minister said the group’s interest included investment in the sugar industry, but it was told that the prospects of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) being sold were slim despite its dismal fortunes.
A PSC member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that while the sugar industry was discussed, there were no talks on the local sugar corporation being sold as the private sector had no authority to speak for GuySuCo. “We did meet with Chris Tufton but that was to discuss investment options here… a representative of a Chinese-owned, Fortune 500 company was with him,” the member said.
The PSC member said it was explained to both Tufton and the Complant representative that the chances of GuySuCo being sold were slim to none although it was a failing industry, given its historical political linkages in Guyana. “We… had to explain the genesis of the link with the ruling party and let them know that no one should hold their breath on hearing of a sale anytime soon,” the PSC member said.
Sugar production for 2013 fell to 186,807 tonnes, which was the lowest recorded in 22 years. The past year saw continued industrial relations issues, mechanical problems and inadequate grinding capacity and the industry’s performance slid beneath GuySuCo’s minimum production rate of 232,000 tonnes of sugar for its international and local quotas, leaving the corporation severely indebted to banks and suppliers.
Tufton said he learned a lot about the sugar industry here and believes it has tremendous potential given the myriad diversified uses of sugar cane, hence investments can be tackled from that perspective.
He explained that its potential included “…[being] able to achieve critical mass to benefit from economies of scale because of abundant land, possibility to integrate multiple revenues streams… focus not just on sugar but a cane industry is critical so emphasis on all the critical product lines including refined sugar, energy, molasses for rum, animal feed…”
Tufton informed that he did not meet GuySuCo officials.
“It’s clearly an important industry to Guyana, both from a job creation and an export earning perspective,” Tufton, who was also Jamaica’s Minister of Investment Industry and Commerce stated.
He also explained that Guyana was chosen for the exploratory visit after an analysis of investment factors was done.
“Guyana has been developing and growing at a rate well above most other regional territories and so represents tremendous potential for investments in a range of areas. The country’s vast land mass and abundant natural resources, proximity to Latin America and Caricom membership makes it an important prospect for export driven investments,” he noted.
While he said he was pleased with the reception and warmth of the people of Guyana and the prospects of investment possibilities here, he noted areas of concern. These include, “political stability and impact on policy continuity and international concerns on financial flows,” he said.
