Patience and hard work paying off at Skeldon

Dear Editor,
It is very relieving to see that the level of sugar production being delivered at the Skeldon Sugar Factory indicates that the upgrade works done on the facility by Bosch Engineering are bearing fruit.
This was exactly the pronouncement that came from the agriculture minister, who also made mention of the fact that the factory is beginning to work as anticipated.
But I still do not rule out a few teething and labour problems, however, we must not allow set-backs to cause us to fight and attack one another. The large picture of the local sugar industry is one that we must always keep in mind. It lends stability to so many people and the history of it shows that solidarity for national goals is always possible.
The Skeldon factory has produced an impressive yield thus far, producing more than 2500 tonnes of sugar, with the second crop almost equalling the production of the first crop.
This now takes the factory’s total production for the year so far to some 95,000 tonnes. This is not bad at all.
The goal is quite attainable, as overall it is to reach 155,000 tonnes for this crop and to exceed the 200,000 tonne target. So even though the bad weather factor must be kept in mind, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is quite optimistic that there will be improved yields, with the possibility of grinding until Christmas. This will translate to surpassing of the 155,000 tonnes for this second crop.
I go back here to the furious attacks from many on the South African firm Bosch Engineering. This company was hired to execute rehabilitative works at Skeldon and had conducted a series of successful tests. I am not technically inclined, but I go with effectiveness. I have to give my kudos to this group and the government for taking this route.
Let us not forget that in quite a few Caribbean Community (Caricom) member countries, the sugar industry has been experiencing a lot of problems. In Trinidad and Tobago, a privately- owned sugarmill, estimated to cost $ 9 million, took things over to help out. Then in Jamaica, the Sugar Company of Jamaica Holdings for Chinese firm COMPLANT International Sugar Industry Company Limited purchased government’s remaining sugar assets, including the Frome, Monymusk and Bernard Lodge factories.
Since 1985, millions of U. S. dollars have been spent and wasted in an attempt to revive the sugar industry by poor Caribbean countries.
Narrowly implemented U. S. trade policies have even pushed Caribbean sugar economies to the verge of collapse.
The U. S. annulled the Cuban sugar quota in 1961, just two years after the Cuban Revolution. So in many ways, Guyana is faring quite well. We have not collapsed and we have kept our holdings and things are looking up. We just have to stay with our long term plans and goals.
Yours truly,
Gary Prescott