Celebrating production of 2457 tonnes of sugar in a week is ludicrous — Tony Vieira — Opinion

Celebrating production of 2457 tonnes of sugar in a week is ludicrous

Tony Vieira

March 11, 2026·2 min read

Thread

Mar 11, 2026

Tony Vieira

Mar 12, 2026GuySuCo Boast Crumbles Under ScrutinyHemdutt Kumar

Dear Editor,

I have been asked by a few colleagues to respond to the release of the claims made by GuySuCo, about it attaining a milestone in production by producing 2,457 tonnes in the week, ending March 7th 2026. It was a milestone alright, but not of progress, but of decline!!

Editor Blairmont has a factory which is built to grind around 100 tonnes of cane per hour (TCH), Rose Hall 140 TCH and Albion around 180 TCH. Unless a factory can work 160 hours per week it can never be competitive. The simple truth is that the fuel for a factory is the biomass of the cane after it is crushed i.e. what we call bagasse, so after a factory runs out of cane for grinding, it can’t just stop operations, since the juice from the canes which were just crushed are still to be processed to produce sugar, so the factory has to continue working and needs fuel to do so, but since there is no new cane coming in, they have to use up reserves of bagasse or buy wood to continue processing what is in train. Grinding hours per week is the single most important feature of the efficiency of any factory. Theoretically therefore those three estates working 160 hours per week should grind 67,200 tonnes per week; assuming 12 tons of cane to make a ton of sugar, the true potential of these three estates is 5600 tonnes of sugar per week!! To be celebrating a production of 2457 tonnes per week by Rose Hall and Albion is ludicrous!

40 years ago no factory dared report to head office on Saturday that they only ground 120 hours in any week due to being out of canes, “heads would absolutely roll”. As a GuySuCo manager at Versailles, I sat in my office on numerous Saturdays when we gave Neil Isaacs at head office in Water Street Georgetown, our production, and in those days Albion was consistently reporting 2000 tons of sugar for the week!

To see the big hoopla about two estates producing 2457 in a week, is to me a very important symptom of how low we have sunk to celebrate such inefficiency and disastrous operations. Clearly these extremely low sugar industry targets today are contributing in no small way to the hopeless situation the corporation finds itself in, when an un-competitive industry is rewarding such disastrous results.

To add insult to injury Blairmont factory is quote “experiencing ongoing mechanical problems” after the massive infusion of funds given to this industry over the past several years, how dare they tell the taxpayers of this country that Blairmont is having mechanical issues affecting its operations, forcing them to take its cane across the Berbice river bridge, to Albion?? I can’t even imagine what that is costing us!! As for the hysterical daily average corporation production declaration now reaching 156 tonnes in a single day!! Albion alone in the 70’s and 80’s was producing over 250 tons per day for decades.

I really can’t think of a single thing I would care to add to this pantomime.

Yours faithfully,
Tony Vieira

Source

Celebrating production of 2457 tonnes of sugar in a week is ludicrous in Stabroek News, March 11, 2026

Other references

WIN engaged in deception and obfuscation

gawugy.com · 2026-03-02

According to the post, some 60 workers of Uitvlugt Estate have not been paid for the past three (3) months. This is certainly news to us, as no worker, much less sixty, within the Union’s bargaining units within the sugar industry has ... represented these workers. We must caution that we are unable to offer any comment for sugar workers not within the ... shed any light on the contentions advanced. We must, however, highlight that the senior staffers under our Union’s umbrella have not had any reduction of their earnings or conditions. We are unaware that sugar workers were misled or taken advantage of regarding wage adjustments. The quantum of pay rises for sugar workers were known as far back as 2024 when the Union and the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (GuySuCo) signed a three-(3)-year wage/salary pact. That agreement provided for pay rises for 2024, 2025 and 2026. Therefore, we are at a loss to see where workers were misled, but such disingenuity emanating from the political grouping is not surprising. Our Union’s President, Mr Seepaul Narine, is charged with not representing GAWU members in the sugar industry. As we have pointed out, that is precisely what Mr Narine and the Union have been doing. We do not need any advice from the WIN and its players on how we should pursue our work. The party highlights the disciplinary actions taken by the Union against two (2) Uitvlugt Estate workers. We wish to clarify that the actions taken by the Union are consistent with its ... We urge the WIN and its officials not to engage in desperate acts of deception and obfuscation. The GAWU remains proud of its effort to protect union members and advance their rights and conditions. We cannot fail to note that, as the WIN feigns concern for sugar workers, in its midst are several personalities who stood silently and, from all impressions, supported the closure of estates and the sending onto the breadline of thousands of sugar workers. The contradiction is ... Share. Twitter Facebook Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email Previous Article GAWU observes the 50th anniversary of the historic Recognition and Settlement of Disputes Agreement with GuySuCo Next Article GAWU’s Phagwah message 2026 ## GAWU’s International Women’s Day message 2026 ## GAWU’s Phagwah message 2026 ## GAWU observes the 50th anniversary of the historic Recognition and Settlement of Disputes Agreement with GuySuCo > GAWU Facebook ## WIN engaged in deception and obfuscation The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU)

WIN Raises Alarm Over Unpaid Wages, Salary Cuts at Sugar Estates – Village Voice News

villagevoicenews.com · 2026-03-01

David Hinds] - The Herbal Section - The Voice of Labour - Bad & Bold ... - From The Desk of Roysdale Forde SC - Blackout - Future Notes - Lincoln Lewis Speaks - Hindsight - Eye On Guyana ... - From The Desk of Roysdale Forde SC - Blackout - Future Notes ... # WIN Raises Alarm Over Unpaid Wages, Salary Cuts at Sugar Estates by Admin March 1, 2026 in News Albion sugar workers engaging Azruddin Mohamed, Leader of WIN and the Parliamentary Opposition 0 SHARES 0 VIEWS Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) party, the main opposition in Parliament with 16 seats, has raised serious concerns ... In a statement, WIN alleged that more than 60 workers attached to the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate have gone three months without receiving salaries. “Approximately 60 workers at various levels attached to Uitvlugt Estate have not received ... ### READ ALSO ### Ali’s Cuba Comments Ignite Debate Over Guyana’s Foreign Policy ... The party further claimed that senior management staff across the four operating estates — Uitvlugt, Albion, Blairmont and Rose Hall — have had their salaries significantly reduced. According to WIN, “Senior management staff across all four estates – Uitvlugt, Albion, Blairmont and Rose Hall – have had their salaries slashed by nearly $100,000.” ... per cent for 2025 and nine per cent for 2026. “Workers believe they are being misled and taken advantage of regarding ... WIN also criticised the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), stating that its head, Seepaul Narine, ... Additionally, WIN claimed that at least two Uitvlugt Estate workers were “victimised and immediately removed from the union after standing up against these issues.” The party called on Minister Zulfikar to “give immediate attention to the non-payment of wages and the reported unilateral salary reductions,” urging urgent intervention at the estates. The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has continued to face financial challenges despite significant government support. In the 2026 national budget, the government allocated G$8.4 billion to assist with the corporation’s wages and salaries, as its annual wage bill remains substantially higher. Approximately 81 per cent of that allocation is earmarked for salaries, with the remainder designated for fuel, materials and services as part of a turnaround plan aimed at achieving profitability by 2030. Analysts argue that repeated bailouts and ongoing structural challenges — ... within the sector. The government and GuySuCo have not publicly responded to the allegations. ... News ### Ali’s Cuba Comments Ignite Debate Over Guyana’s Foreign Policy by Admin March 10, 2026 President Irfaan Ali’s recent remarks on Cuba have ignited debate about whether Guyana is departing from decades of ... Read more News ### Gov’t Launches Food Safety Training to Strengthen Agriculture Sector by Admin March 10, 2026 The Government of Guyana has begun a food safety training programme aimed at strengthening the country’s agricultural ... Read more News ### Chronicle Article Sparks Controversy Over Convictions and Parliament by Admin March 10, 2026 ... Read more Next Post ### China emerges as big winner from Supreme Court's tariff ruling ### Recycle Organics Launch Home Composting Programme in Guyana July 9, 2024 ### FITUG is heartened by proactive COVID-19 response August 21, 2020 ### CARIBBEAN Civil Society Groups Condemn US Strikes as Extrajudicial Killings, Call for Regional De-escalation ... ### Opposition willing to support legal challenge against delayed swearing-in of Region Eight RDC Councillors ... - The Herbal Section - The Voice of Labour - Bad & Bold - Mind Your Business - In the village - Mark’s Take - Diplomatic Speak - From The Desk of Roysdale Forde SC - Blackout - Future Notes - Lincoln Lewis Speaks - Hindsight - Eye On Guyana © 2024 Village Voice