With GuySuCo’s production cost rising to close to US$0.40 per pound, Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the sugar industry Vibert Parvatan says swift “corrective action” will need to be taken to reduce losses as they could prove catastrophic for the current planning to make the corporation viable.
Following a meeting yesterday with the major sugar unions GAWU and NAACIE at the Ministry of Agriculture, Parvatan told Stabroek News that planning for the next three years with the current level of annual losses would be “a very, very catastrophic situation” and emphasise the need for action.
Currently, GuySuCo produces sugar at nearly US$0.40 per pound but is selling at US$0.16 per pound to its biggest buyer Tate and Lyle. “The worst has happened. The GuySuCo cost of production has climbed. Now it is closer now to US$0.40… some levels of efficiency will bring down the cost but the gap at this time is extremely wide… some of the recommendations will bring down the cost, like the supervision, better management, better quality of
