GuySuCo now produces sugar three times world market price

Sugar prices on the world market for the past six months have dropped significantly to between US 250 –US 275 per tonne, further compounding the problems of the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). The prices translate to about 12.5 cents per pound (c/lb). As of yesterday, the price was 12.66 cents per pound.

The figures would continue to send warning signs, as it was only in January that GuySuCo officials appeared before a Parliamentary committee and disclosed that the cost for which sugar is traded on the world market is an average US 0.19 per pound. This would contrast starkly with GuySuCo cost per pound of approximately US0.40 -more than double. It is now thrice of what it is being sold for. The world market price disclosure by GuySuCo would only serve to underscore the plight facing the industry which is rocked by industrial unrest and protests over plans to close the Rose Hall and Enmore estates in a lastditch attempt to keep the industry alive. GuySuCo explained yesterday that it supplies annually about 65,000 tonnes of bagged and packaged sugar to Caribbean and local markets. Another 12,000 tonnes of raw sugar is supplied to the North American market while the remainder, which is also raw sugar, is sold on the European market. The supply to Europe for the second crop 2017 is expected to be around 70,000 tonnes. “The current forecast is that there will be a surplus of sugar on the World Market for the marketing year 2017/2018. In addition, from 1st October 2017, the European Union market will also see some radical changes, since it is anticipated that significant additional amounts of beet sugar will be available for sale and this will compete directly with cane sugar.” This, GuySuCo said, may result in reduced sugar prices in Europe.

(Kaieteurnews.com)