Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697743399017.pdf (Guyana)
GUYANA SUGAR CORPORATION INC. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 1 CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................................................. 3 BOARD OF DIRECTORS .................................................................................................................................. 5 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT ................................................................................................................................... 6 AGRICULTURE OPERATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 8 AGRICULTURE RESEARCH .............................................................................................................................. 9 FACTORY ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 HUMAN RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................... 14 MARKETING................................................................................................................................................. 19 REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS ........................................................................................................................ 21 REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ........................................................................................................... 24 REPORT OF THE AUDITORS TO THE AUDITOR GENERAL ............................................................................ 27 FINANCIALS ................................................................................................................................................. 30 2 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: TEN YEAR REVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 4 Table 2: Showing
4 Table 2: Showing Estates’ and Farmers Hectares’ Harvested, Cane Yields, Cane and Sugar Production for 2015 ........................................................................................................................................................ 8 Table 3: Showing Industry’s Tillage and Planting Achievements for 2015 ............................................ 9 Table 4: Showing Estates’ Average Annual Rainfall for 2015 Compared to 59 Year Mean ................ 10 Table 5: Showing Estates’ Sugar Production for 2015 with 2014 Comparatives ................................. 11 Table 6: Showing the Average Weekly Grinding Hours in 2015 .......................................................... 12 Table 7: Showing Time Loss in 2015.................................................................................................... 13 Table 8: Showing Production of the Enmore Packaging Plant ............................................................. 14 Table 9: Showing the comparative analysis of strikes from 2010 – 2015 ............................................. 17 Table 10: Showing Strikes by Causation for 2016 with 5 Year Comparatives ..................................... 18 3 Table 1: TEN YEAR REVIEW 4 2006200720082009201020112012201320142015HECTARES HARVESTED42,422 39,757 44,262 43,556 36,510 45,411 43,616 40,676 45,302 42,782 TONNES CANE MILLED ('000)2,975 3,099 2,767 2,764 2,762 3,196 2,710 2,461 2,837 2,816 YIELDS:ESTATE - TONNES CANE / HECTARE64.48 71.97 57.71 57.50 66.32 62.58 55.31 53.55 55.66 57.96 TONNES CANE /TONNE SUGAR 11.46 11.55 12.16 11.67 12.51 13.51 12.43 13.18 13.11 12.19 TONNE SUGAR / HECTARE5.63 6.23 4.75 4.93 5.30 4.63 4.45 4.06 4.25 4.76 PRODUCTION (TONNES)SUGAR259,549 266,482 226,267 233,736 220,818 236,505 218,068 186,755 216,358 231,071 HOME CONSUMPTION (TONNES):SUGAR23,396 23,480 23,345 23,594 22,341 20,031 22,387 22,141 20,799 21,768 EXPORT (TONNES):SUGAR237,681 244,865 205,268 217,707 195,745 210,863 196,537 163,330 189,561 212,660 SALES:DOMESTIC SUGAR ($M)1,644
 1,673 1,595 1,906 2,273 1,884 2,048 2,101 2,107 2,184 AVERAGEPRICE / TONNE($)70,245 71,252 68,328 76,857 101,757 94,079 91,463 94,872 101,287 100,332 EXPORT SUGAR ($M)25,509 27,101 23,777 24,398 18,332 23,954 26,211 23,240 17,312 15,202 AVERAGE PRICE / TONNE ($)107,332 110,676 115,832 112,067 93,652 113,601 133,363 142,288 91,327 71,487 AVERAGE PRICE / TONNE (US$)538 545 570 552 462 558 654 694 443 347 EXPENDITURE ($M)EMPLOYMENT COST16,067 17,373 17,580 15,571 15,787 18,518 19,413 20,094 22,385 21,673 MATERIALS AND SERVICES9,485 8,958 10,858 10,629 11,565 12,626 11,271 11,546 13,100 11,829 (LOSS) / PROFIT BEFORE TAX AND LEVY2,429 2,159 6,210- 1,949- 5,136- 11,232- 1,863- 2,959- 22,335- 2,662- (LOSS) / PROFIT AFTER TAX BEFORE LEVY476 630 4,089- 1,323- 7,387- 13,896- 1,246- 5,736 15,730- 1,868- AVERAGE MID MARKETEXCHANGE RATE (G$ / US$ )199.50 202.99 203.34 202.99 202.83 203.63 203.99 204.99 205.98 205.98 BOARD OF DIRECTORS The Board Directors of the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. as of December 31, 2015 are as follows: Dr. Clive Thomas Mr. George Jervis Ms. Louise Bouyea Mr. Earl John Mr. Anthony Vieira Chairman Director Director Director Director 5 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2015 was a year heralding radical change for the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc.
Subsequent to the change in Government, and in recognition of the plight the sugar industry was in, the shareholders appointed an Interim Management Committee (IMC) in June 2015 and a new Board of Directors (BOD) shortly thereafter.
The Board and Interim Management were confronted with many challenges, which included a weakened and demoralized management team, a very adversarial Industrial Relations climate, low sugar prices, declining production levels, high operational costs, serious loss making, and consequently a major liquidity crisis, and a huge debt burden.

It was evident that the sugar industry was in need of major reorganization; that it could no longer be “business as usual”.
The Board and management team proceeded to develop urgently a series of initiatives to arrest the situation while the elements of a longer term strategy were being contemplated.

Given the gravity of the situation, the Government, in July 2015, appointed a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to look into the sugar industry, and make recommendations for its return to financial and economic viability.

The members of the Commission of Inquiry were knowledgeable and experienced professionals.
The Commission’s Report was submitted to the shareholders in October 2015 outlining their evaluations of the most economical options for the sugar industry to pursue.

The Economic Services Committee (ESC) of Parliament was then mandated to consider and to report back on the way forward for consideration by Parliament/Government of Guyana.

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The Commission’s main recommendation was that there should be no closure of any estate but that the Corporation should be privatized within three years.
Other sections of the report pointed to diversification away from the reliance on sugar as an option.
Initiatives identified in 2015 for implementation in 2016 to reduce the operating cost, cash deficit, and/or generate funds for the Corporation included 1) the merging of Wales and Uitvlugt Estates, 2) transitioning the Wales cultivation from sugar cane to other crops and aquaculture, 3) completion of the integration of the La Bonne Intention and Enmore Estates into the East Demerara Estate, 4) relocation of the Information Systems and Head Office Departments from Ogle Estate to the former LBI Estate Compound, 5) the sale of non / under - performing assets, in particular lands, and 6) the cost recovery of drainage and irrigation now benefiting external parties.
The Board was very encouraged by some of the achievements of the Corporation during the second half of the year 2015.

The second crop’s production reflected a significant improvement over previous years.

There was a greater sense of purpose across the industry.

However, the underlying and deep rooted problems remained which would best be addressed through the reorganization process.

A new strategic direction for the Corporation is currently being developed.
6 The year ended with renewed, enthused Management and Staff, and improved cane yields experienced in the cultivations and sugar recoveries in the factories, resulting in the second crop 2015’s sugar production budget being surpassed by 3,627 tonnes or 2.5%.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Members of the Board, the Interim Management Committee, Management and the Workforce for their hard work, enthusiasm and contributions made to the industry in this challenging year of change.
We look forward to everyone’s continued support and dedication in 2016.
7 AGRICULTURE OPERATIONS Production Table 2: Showing Estates’ and Farmers Hectares’ Harvested, Cane Yields, Cane and Sugar Production for 2015 8 EstateHectares HarvestedCane Yields / Tonnes Canes per HectareCanes Harvested / tonnes Sugar Produced / tonnes Skeldon7,989 56.52 451,500 32,213 Albion9,002 68.85 619,739 59,858 Rose Hall6,305 59.01 372,070 28,217 Blairmont5,741 73.47 421,749 36,695 East Demerara7,041 47.13 331,813 26,445 Wales2,723 42.58 115,928 9,170 Uitvlugt3,983 45.01 179,234 14,020 Industry42,782 58.25 2,492,033 206,618 Estates EstateHectares HarvestedCane Yields / Tonnes Canes per HectareCanes Harvested / tonnes Sugar Produced / tonnes Skeldon2,133 45.34 96,732 6,944 Albion96 70.35 6,782 532 Rose Hall647 62.40 40,355 3,071 Blairmont- - - - East Demerara217 37.66 8,161 649 Wales2,366 59.42 140,561 10,884 Uitvlugt342 90.67 30,992 2,373 Industry5,801 55.78 323,583 24,453 FarmersEstateHectares HarvestedCane Yields / Tonnes Canes per HectareCanes Harvested / tonnes Sugar Produced / tonnes Skeldon10,122 54.16 548,232 39,157 Albion9,098 68.86 626,521 60,390 Rose Hall6,952 59.33 412,425 31,288 Blairmont5,741 73.47 421,749 36,695 East Demerara7,258 46.84 339,974 27,094 Wales5,089 50.40 256,489 20,054 Uitvlugt4,324 48.62 210,226 16,392 Industry48,583 57.96 2,815,616 231,071 Industry In 2015, GuySuCo budgeted to produce a total of 227,443 tonnes of sugar; this included an estimated farmers’ production of 26,117 tonnes.
The Corporation exceeded this target in producing 231,071 tonnes; 11% of which is farmers’ production.

This also represented a 7% increase over 2014’s production.

The increased production is attributed to the favourable weather conditions and the increased planting programme which positively impacted both the estates’ and farmers’ cane yields.
Tillage and Planting Table 3: Showing Industry’s Tillage and Planting Achievements for 2015 Despite the El Nino conditions the industry achieved a planting programme of 7,284 ha (inclusive of farmers 224 ha) in 2015 of the 7,892 ha of lands tilled.

AGRICULTURE RESEARCH In 2015, the Department’s scientists have contributed monitoring and advisory support to estates where necessary, in crop maintenance.

Rainfall 2015 was a somewhat dry year.


Mean annual rainfall was 1,784mm, 11% lower than the historical (59year) mean.

Individual estate rainfall varied from 2,980mm at Uitvlugt to 1346mm at Blairmont.
9 Tillage PlantingSkeldon1,532 1,095 Albion1,603 1,681 Rose Hall1,384 1,296 Blairmont1,037 971 East Demerara895 895 Wales742 709 Uitvlugt700 636 Industry7,892 7,284 ha Table 4: Showing Estates’ Average Annual Rainfall for 2015 Compared to 59 Year Mean Breeding and Selection Emphasis continued to be placed on the High Quality Selection Programme which is being run with close cooperation of the High Quality Programme at the West Indies Sugar Central Sugarcane Breeding Station.
This has begun to produce results that received attention from sugarcane breeders around the world.

The department commenced 2015 with 103,221 seedlings, 8,632 clones and 1,364 varieties under evaluation.

During the year 15,508 seedlings were planted for stage I evaluation, 6,331 of which were established to facilitate analysis of the crosses as family.

In addition, 538 clones were advanced to stage III and assigned their permanent identification numbers.
Pests and Diseases The main activities of the Entomology section of the Plant Protection Unit (PPU), in 2015 centered on the monitoring and management of the industry’s sugarcane pest and its established management programme across the industry.

This was accomplished through data collection, analysis and information feedbacks and extension visits and training when and where required.
Throughout the year there were no reports of major outbreaks or severe infestations of any major or minor pest species, however the usual seasonal upsurges at endemic locations/sections in cultivations on various estates were evident for the major pests.
The Routine prophylactic baiting for the Sugarcane rat (Holochilus brasiliensis) was continuous on all estates, guided mainly by quantitative routine monitoring and harvesting schedules for guard-up measures and along borders of natural endemic sites and habitat.

Close monitoring of all major problem weeds continued during the year.

The management of problem weeds especially on Demerara Estates was affected by the weather.
Rodents Routine monitoring activities for the major pest species - the sugarcane rat (Holochilus brasiliensis); was carried out on all estates across the industry.

Through-out the year there were no reports of major outbreaks, or of threatening population resulting in severe damages.

Damage levels were below the average 0.5% fresh stalk damage for most of the year on most estates.
However, the usual seasonal upsurge was evident in and around endemic sections and locations 10 EstateAnnual Rainfall 201559 Year Annual RainfallSkeldon17041671Albion13691771Rose Hall15401959Blairmont13461805Enmore16631932LBI15222023Wales21492314Uitvlugt29802743Industry Average17842027mm on estates, especially on the known rodent endemic estates; Wales and Uitvlugt.

From a total of 58,607running hectares surveyed across the industry an average 0.09% fresh stalk damage was revealed.
Wales, Uitvlugt and Enmore Estates experienced more damages through-out the year during high activity seasons.
Most of the damages reported were associated with seasonal migrations and intra-field movements of rat families during land preparations and field rehabilitation Quality Control International proficiency testing continued during the year for plant tissue in collaboration with the International Plant Analytical Exchange (IPE) at the Wageningen University in The Netherlands, as part of the unit’s quality assurance programme.
Environmental Monitoring Physico-chemical monitoring of estate inlet and effluent streams for agriculture and factory processing operations, irrigation and drainage water for agriculture operations, tailings pond samples for controlled waste discharge, intake and outlet water for factory processing and wastewater from agriculture and factory operations continued during 2015.

Prior to 2014, only Enmore and Uitvlugt factories were monitored for environmental impact from factory operations and maintenance.
A new protocol was introduced in 2015 which saw the commencement of testing and monitoring of all factories.

Some additional parameters are now tested in keeping with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) guidelines.

FACTORY Sugar Production Table 5: Showing Estates’ Sugar Production for 2015 with 2014 Comparatives Sugar production for 2015 totaled 231,071 tonnes representing 102% of the budgeted target of 227,443 tonnes.
Favorable weather conditions for harvesting and steady labour turnout in second 11 Factory20142015% ChangeSkeldon 35,890 39,158 9%Albion 51,294 61,910 21%Rose Hall 31,931 29,768 -7%Blairmont 33,499 36,695 10%East Demerara 30,932 27,094 -12%Wales 18,898 20,014 6%Uitvlugt 13,916 16,432 18%Industry 216,357 231,071 7%tonnes crop resulted in factories being supplied with canes continuously and consequently improved production levels.

Albion’s performance was the best achieving 121% of its target.
Skeldon’s sugar production of 39,158 tonnes surpassed 2014’s actual and is now the highest production since the new factory was commissioned in 2009.

The factory performance has improved considerably (15% improvement in the sugar recoveries).

Grinding Hours Table 6: Showing the Average Weekly Grinding Hours in 2015 Poor harvesting conditions in first crop 2015 affected cane supply to factories, hence the under achievement of grinding hours for the year.
However, during the second crop 2015, Albion, Rose Hall, Blairmont and East Demerara Estates surpassed 130 grinding hrs/week on several occasions.

Factory Time Efficiency and Mill Extraction Factory time efficiency for the industry was 91.39% while mill extraction was 92.91%.

This is compared to 2014 performance of 92.07% and 90.98% respectively.
12 Factory1st CROP2nd CROPYEAR 2015Skeldon 86.80 107.31 100.19 Albion 112.99 119.72 117.24 Rose Hall 112.52 120.96 118.08 Blairmont 128.20 128.60 128.45 East Demerara 97.71 105.74 102.54 Wales 100.09 105.36 102.93 Uitvlugt 84.65 102.89 92.12 Industry 103.55 114.52 110.09 hours Time Loss Table 7: Showing Time Loss in 2015 When compared to year 2014, loss time due to out-of-cane reduced by 33%, strikes increased by 130% and factory breakdowns were reduced by 8% for the industry.
Loss time due to factory breakdowns at Skeldon and East Demerara Estates remained high, however; the maintenance programmes will be addressing the core issues.

ISO Certification The annual surveillance audit of the company’s quality system was completed and Blairmont and Enmore factories have retained the ISO 9001 certification status.

Skeldon Sugar Modernization Project The main focus for 2015 was on improving factory throughput and reliability.
To improve factory throughput, major modification works were completed on the outboard punt dumper to convert the lifting mechanism from hydraulic rams to cables and winch.

The modification proved successful with overall factory throughput achieving a weekly average as high as 260t/hr.

Such level was never achieved since commissioning in 2009.

With a steady cane supply and higher factory throughput, Skeldon recorded its highest ever overall recovery of 75.24% since commissioning.
Co-generation Supply of power to the national continued throughout 2015.

A total of 36GWh was supplied to the Berbice Interconnected System (BIS) for the year in review.
13 FactoryOUT-OF-CANESTRIKESFACTORY BREAKDOWNSSkeldon 896.53 169.08 471.21 Albion 810.85 223.84 228.94 Rose Hall 348.01 350.00 304.25 Blairmont 450.21 363.40 122.86 East Demerara 890.57 314.66 493.18 Wales 933.13 150.85 260.93 Uitvlugt 1,061.71 149.42 201.60 Industry 5,391.01 1,721.25 2,082.97 hours Enmore Packaging Plant Production of value added products continued during 2015.

At least three (3) new brands of sugar were released.

These include Regale, Cuisine and Enmore Crystals.


The output of the Plant for the various products is seen in table below.

Table 8: Showing Production of the Enmore Packaging Plant Sugar production for 2015 at East Demerara Estates was 27,094t.

Therefore, 14,084.273 tonnes represents 52% conversion to value addition.

HUMAN RESOURCES Management Structure In 2015 a new National Government resulted in a change of leadership of the Corporation.
An Interim Management Committee comprising of Mr. Errol Hanoman, as Chief Executive Officer and Paul Bhim, as Finance Director, was in effect from June 3, 2015 as well as a new Board of Directors, which held its first meeting in August 2015.

Meanwhile, the Human Resources Director, Mr. Jairam Petam retired in May, 2015 and a Human Resources Management Adviser, Mr. Earl John was appointed in December, 2015.
Cadetships Scholarships to University Guyana Eleven (11) Cadets have successfully completed their first and second year in the BSc.

Agriculture and Civil Engineer programme at both Tain and Turkeyen campuses.

Additionally, five (5) employees have been awarded cadetship to pursue a BSc in Agriculture and are currently in the First Year.
14 Product NameQuantity in tonnesDemerara Gold 2,988.665 Demerara Brown 690.075 Enmore Crystals 96.066 Regale 75.042 Cuisine 164.975 Genuine Demerara Cane Sugar (50kg) 9,431.450 Genuine Demerara cane Sugar (1t) 638.000 TOTAL 14,084.273 Scholarships to Guyana School of Agriculture Sixteen (16) staff members graduated with the Diploma in Agriculture from Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) and have since commenced their contractual agreement with the Corporation.
Meanwhile, five (5) students have completed their First Year and will be proceeding into second year, and a new batch of four (4) staff members is currently undergoing First Year training for the Academic Year 2015-2016.

Work-study Attachment Eighteen (18) students were on seven (7) weeks work-study attachment during the reporting period: - nine (9) from Secondary Schools and seven (7) from the University of Guyana, who were assigned duties at Head Office Departments.
There were also two (2) students from the T.A.

Marryshow Community College, Grenada who were assigned duties at Information Systems Department.
Bursaries Ninety-nine (99) students across the Industry and Head Office qualified and were awarded Bursaries for the National Grade Six Assessment, while one hundred and thirty-four (134) children of employees were reimbursed cash for their success at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC), General Certificate of Education (GCE) AND Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

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Management Trainees There were two (2) Factory Management Trainees - Mechanical Engineer and Chemistry, who would complete their formal training in February and March, 2016.

Assistance to Study Scheme Twelve (12) employees accessed funds from this scheme during the year totaling seven hundred and ninety-three thousand, eight hundred and thirty-eight ($793,838.)

dollars.
dollars.

Industrial Attachments Two (2) students from the University of Guyana (Civil and Mechanical Engineer) are currently on Industrial Attachment at Factory Operations and East Demerara Estate.

GuySuCo Training School The first year training programme was amended to facilitate specialized trades in the second six months in order to improve the knowledge and skills of the apprentices before moving into the second year of training.
As such, apprentices were able to accelerate the second year training by improving their performance.

15 In June 2015, fifty seven (57) second year apprentices wrote the craft examinations whilst 30 third and 10 fourth year apprentices wrote the advanced and technician’s examinations.

There were 44 distinctions, 81 credits, 13 passes and 5 referrals.
GTC/PM continues to enhance the Instrumentation and Auto Mechanic programs to satisfy the current needs of the Industry by upgrading the facility standards and concentrating on an increase ofn-plant training in both field and factory for the second year apprentices and staff.

Apprentices and staff were also involved in In-plant training at the Skeldon and Albion factories/ fields in March 2015.
The one-day per week in-plant training for the Electricians and Instrument Mechanics at Albion Factory commenced on March 11th and 13th, 2015 respectively and concluded until the end of the first crop; twenty seven (27) students participated, along with their instructors.

The Fitting and Machining apprentices completed their one week in-plant training at Albion Factory and Workshop from February 9th to 13th, 2015.
Second year apprentices along with the Instrument Repair Mechanic apprentices completed their training at GTC/PM on June 25th, 2015 and return to their respective sponsored estates.

Seven Sugar Boiler Apprentices concluded their six-week in-plant training at Albion in April, 2015.

There is growing demand for mechanization and automation of the sugar industry; as such Apprentices within their second year training continue to visit the estate with structured training programs to enhance their skills.
At the same time Instructors benefited by acquiring knowledge of some of the changes made within the industry in this area.

Changes were made to the Instrumentation and Auto Mechanic course outlines to bridge the gaps with the industry current needs.

The in- plant training for third and fourth year apprentices is monitored quarterly.

Log book and other inspections were carried out on a regular basis by instructors to ascertain that the apprentices are maintaining a high standard.
This was conducted across all the estates from the period January 7 to 14, 2015 and May 7 to 14, 2015.

Greater emphasis was placed on apprentice’s progress report discussion with Human Resources Manager and apprentice parents/guardians.

In addition, quarterly meetings were held with the parents/guardians of all first and second year apprentices at the Centre.

Five apprentices from the 2011 entry had their apprenticeship extended by six months each, whilst one voluntarily terminated the apprenticeship.
Other Training & Extra-Curricular Activities During the out of crop period, Bell loaders and tractors from Albion Estate were assigned to GTC/PM workshop to further enhance training.

Also, senior staff from the factory and workshop conducted frequent technical training sessions for which the apprentices benefitted.

The apprentices participated in frequent lecture and public speaking sessions on Friday evenings at the Hostel.
Remedial sessions were held on Saturdays and Sundays for apprentices who were in need of additional support.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports conducted a lecture session on Drugs and Alcohol abuse on July 26th 2015.

16 The GuySuCo Training Centre in collaboration with the Board of Industrial Training continued to offer its evening class programs to the communities of Regions 5 and 6.
Since the reintroduction of the evening class programme in 2013 at the GTC/PM, 346 persons were trained in the areas of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning, Fitting and Machining, Welding and Fabrication, Electrical Installation, Motor Vehicle Service and Repairs and Supervisory Management.

130 persons graduated from the third batch in April 2015 while the fourth batch of students commenced their training on September 7th, 2015.
Industrial Relations Work Stoppages There were 193 strikes recorded in 2015, being the lowest for the past 5 years average of 220.

There were two major work stoppages for the year and those were the three (3) days and seven (7) days industry wide strikes for wages and salaries and Annual Production Incentive (API) respectively.

Those two strikes contributed significantly to the increase in mandays lost for the year with 19,799 and 24,802 man days respectively.
The Corporation surpassed it sugar production target in the second crop, however, it was not without challenges; a greater portion of strikes were recorded during the second – 114 (59.1%) strikes.

The Agriculture piece rated workers continued to demand very high prices for obstacles and to cut and stack canes for Bell in wet weather, resulting in unnecessary work stoppages and refusal to take up work.
The cane harvesters’ demands for exorbitant prices, acceptance of work and demand for cut and stack in 2015 accounted for a total of 155 strikes with 52,021 mandays lost at (80.3 % and 74.2% respectively).

Table 9: Showing the comparative analysis of strikes from 2010 – 2015 Production incentives A total of 94.41 tax-free days’ pay was awarded to qualified employees as Weekly Production Incentive (WPI) across the industry, comprising 25.50 and 68.91 days for the 1st and 2nd crop respectively.
During 2014, WPI achieved were 25.65 in the 1stcrop and 39.25 in the 2nd crop.
Strike by causation The main cause of strikes are pricing/acceptance of work, wages or incentives, demand to cut and stack as well as a number of reasons that vary across the industry such as: Draw Planters 17 Year201020112012201320142015Work Stoppages 250 221 203 233 194 193 Mandays Lost 97,139 37,639 50,230 38,121 32,064 70,129 Wages Lost (G$M) 195 74 118 105 96 182 refused to draw down canes claiming that the canes do not have the required cuttings; Cane Transport Operators and Mates expressing dissatisfaction with the condition of Tyres and Tubes; Harvesters refusing to take up work claiming that their gang is being split too often; Increase in Wages and Salaries; Payment for overrun canes; Demand for Personal Protective Equipment and tools; in solidarity with their colleague who were summarily dismissed.
Table 10: Showing Strikes by Causation for 2016 with 5 Year Comparatives Disciplinary Matters There were a total of 219 instances where the Corporation’s employees have had to be disciplined in 2015.

Corrective measures were instituted on 148 instances, whereas there were 71punitive measures taken with 59 being suspensions and 12 resulted in dismissals.
Health Services Two diagnostic centres and fifteen estate primary health care centres across the industry provide health care services to GuySuCo’s employees and pensioners.

The staff comprises 46 medical personnel which include 6 Doctors, 10 Medexes and 30 Nurses.

Number of visits to all Health Centres, including Ogle Dianostic Centre (ODC) for the period January to December 2015 amounted to 89, 989 compared to 104, 438 for the same period in 2014, a 14% decline in visitors.
There has been a declining trend in attendance over several years.

Medical Examinations are a very important activity of the Health Service.

To date, 4,604 employees were medically examined and counselled.

The Medical Board evaluated 86 employees of which 82 were medically discharged, 3 deemed fit for normal duties and one (1) recommended for alternative duties.

Seventy nine employees or 96% of the employees who were medically discharge were 50yrs.

and below, the most productive period of their lives.
Fifty six employees (68%) were discharged because of illness and only 14 or 17% were discharged for injuries.

Sixty health education sessions were conducted for this period at all location in the industry.

Topics included alcohol and substance abuse, obesity, nutrition, physical activity, diabetes, hypertension, back injuries and work stress.
At the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) Labour College, 12 lectures on Alcohol and substance Abuse were delivered by Estate Medical Officers and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

18 Year2009201020112012201320142015Pricing/ Acceptance of work151157144128147120125Wages/Incentive35269-7-2Demand to cut & stack8323328283230Others35353547514236Total229250221203233194193 A fleet of 8 ambulances made 5,186 trips responding to emergencies from the workforce and communities.
MARKETING In 2015, the Corporation continued to trade in the markets that it has been historically supplying with bulk raw brown sugar and direct consumption (value added) sugar.

These markets remain a strong focus of our efforts.

Additionally, the Marketing Department continues to work with the Corporation’s marketing agent Czarnikow Group Limited to seek out new opportunities and markets worldwide.
This effort has led to the Corporation being able to enter into a new market within Europe namely, Italy by supplying the customer with Demerara specials, packed in one tonne sacks.

This effort also enabled the Corporation to penetrate the Canadian marketplace with its direct consumption sugar.

Also, during the year under review the Corporation was able to re-enter the United States of America (USA) market with its branded sugar ‘Enmore Crystals’.
Long Term Sales Agreement: The Corporation maintained its delivery of bulk raw sugars to American Sugar Refiners under its Long Term Sales Agreement.

During 2015, a total of 127,591 metric tonnes of raw brown sugar was sold to ASR’s UK subsidiary, Tate and Lyle, under the said Agreement.

United States of America (USA) Quota The Corporation shipped the entire quota of 27,181 tonnes of sugar to the USA under the Tariff- Rate Quota (TRQ) allocations for the period 2015.
This covers the quota years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016.

Direct Consumption Sugars Europe, Canada and USA Markets The continuation of low production levels and the Corporation’s commitment under its Long Term Sales Agreement with Tate and Lyle resulted in limited sugar being available for supply to the Direct Consumption market in Europe once again.

However, an improvement over 2014 was recorded, since a total 638 tonnes was exported during the review period.
Sale of direct consumption sugar to the USA resumed in 2015 under the brand name “Enmore Crystals”.

The Corporation was able to export a total of 41 tonnes of packaged and bagged sugars into this market in the last quarter of 2015 and 25 tonnes of packaged sugar into the Canadian market.

19 CARICOM The Corporation continued its efforts to recapture the CARICOM market.
The Corporation believes it has the ability to do this, particularly as a manufacturer who places price, service and value at the core of its marketing effort.

As such, bagged sales to the CARICOM market (at prices well above that of the EU market) showed improvement since sales totaled 19,863 tonnes as opposed to 16,976.00 metric tonnes in 2014.

This consisted mainly of sales to Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Barbados, Antigua and Grenada.
Regional 138 metric tonnes of sugar was shipped to the regional market in 2015.

These included Anguilla, St. Croix, British Virgin Islands and St. Maarten.

The Corporation will continue to strategically focus our efforts in this region for our value-added sugars.

Local Market: A sustained supply of sugar to the local market was maintained in 2015.

Sugar sales totaled 21,112 tonnes, of which 2,974 metric tonnes was in retail packaged form.
Premium Value Added Sugars The Corporation’s total sales in the Value-added category for all markets totaled 8,042 tonnes.

Customer Service The Marketing Department continues to execute its Customer Service Charter under the accreditation of the upgraded ISO 9001 /2008 Management System.
20 REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS For the year ended 31st December, 2015 The Directors of the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. present their report together with the audited financial statements for the year ended 31st December, 2015.

Principal Activity The principal activity of the Corporation is the growing of sugar cane and the manufacture and sale of sugar and molasses from that cane.
The Chairman’s Statement describes the development and operation of the Corporation during the year, the position at the end of the year and the proposed future developments.

Results and Dividends The financial results of the Corporation are set out from page 30 onwards.

In accordance with the policy of the Corporation for many years, no dividends are declared or payable.

Directors The names of the Directors are set out on page 5.

All the Directors are non-executive.


None of the Directors during the year had any material interest in any contract which is of significance in relation to the business of the Corporation.

Directors’ remuneration is set out in note 14.2.2 in the Financial Statements.

Corporate Governance The Board believes that its primary function is to generate sustainable wealth for the shareholder as the key stakeholder in the business.
The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. recognises the importance and is committed to high standards of corporate governance.

This report by the Directors covers the key elements regarding the application by the Corporation of the principles of corporate governance.

(a) The Board: The Board comprises of five non-executive Directors (including the Chairman).

The Board considers that each Director is able to bring independent judgment to the Corporation's affairs in all matters.
The Board meets not less than twelve times a year.

It is responsible for the strategic direction of the Corporation and receives information about the progress of the Corporation and its financial position each month.

This information, together with papers required for each Board meeting, is circulated in a timely manner before each meeting.

21 The Board has established the Central Tender Committee which evaluates all tenders for the supply of materials and services above predetermined levels.
(b) Internal Control: The Board is responsible for the Corporation’s system of internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness which is designed to provide reasonable (but not absolute) assurance regarding the safeguarding of assets against unauthorised use, the maintenance of proper accounting records and the reliability of the financial information used within the Corporation.
The framework of the Corporation’s system of internal control includes: - an organisational structure with clearly defined lines of responsibility and delegation of authority; - documented policies, procedures, and authorisation limits for all transactions including capital expenditure; a comprehensive system of financial reporting.

The Board approves the annual budget and actual results are reported against budget each month.

Any significant adverse variance is examined and remedial action taken.
Revised profit forecasts for the year are prepared on a quarterly basis; an internal audit function - - The system of internal control is designed to manage rather than eliminate risk as no system of control can provide absolute protection against loss.
The Directors are of the opinion, based on information and explanations given by management and the internal auditors, and on comment by the independent auditors on the results of their audit, that the Corporation’s internal accounting controls are adequate and that the financial records may reasonably be relied upon for preparing the financial statements and for maintaining accountability for assets and liabilities.
Employees Staff development and training are provided at all levels and emphasis is placed on both technical and personal development.

GuySuCo is committed to equality of opportunity amongst its employees.

Recruitment, terms of service and career development are based solely on ability and performance.

Pensions The Corporation’s senior staff Pension Scheme is established under an irrevocable trust.

The Pension Scheme Management Committee includes employee representatives.
The Scheme is 22 managed by Professionals.

Both the Committee and the Managers are required to act at all times in accordance with the rules of the Scheme and to have regard to the best interests of the members of the Scheme.

The Management Committee controls the investment funds, which are managed by external fund managers.

GuySuCo is committed to ensuring that the Scheme is administered in accordance with the highest standards.
In addition to the senior staff pension scheme the Corporation pays an ex-gratia pension to those unionized workers who satisfy the qualification criteria for a pension.

This scheme is unfunded.

Material events after year-end There was no material event that is material to the financial affairs of the Corporation or the group occurring between the date of the Balance Sheet and the date of approval of the Financial Statements.

Auditors The Auditor General has audited the Financial Statements.
For the financial years 1995 to 1998, inclusive, this activity was sub-contracted to Deloitte and Touche; for the financial years 1999 to 2003 this activity was sub-contracted to Ram and McRae; for the financial years 2004 to 2010 this activity was subcontracted to TSD Lal & Co; for the financial years 2011 to 2015.

Parmesar Chartered Accountants were the sub-contracted auditors.
By order of the Board Frederick Singh Company Secretary Registered Office Ogle Estate East Coast Demerara 23 REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL 24 25 26 REPORT OF THE AUDITORS TO THE AUDITOR GENERAL 27 28 29 FINANCIALS 30 31