New company to produce 75,000 tonnes of sugar

THE SUGAR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LIMITED (SMCL) has been appointed by Government with a mandate to “produce 75,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes of sugar solely  with farmers’ canes, from the beginning of the 2004 sugar cane crop.”

Prem Nandlal, who graduated with a BSc (Special Honours) Chemistry Degree from UWI, Jamiaca in 1968, is the chairman of the SMCL, one of three companies established to replace Caroni (1975) Limited, the others being the Estate Management and Business Development Company Limited (looking after the distribution of lands) and the Rum Distillery Company of Trinidad and Tobago (looking after the Rum Division). Government announced earlier this year that  Caroni (1975) Limited would be restructured and as such the 9,000 plus employees were offered a VSEP Package so that the Programme could begin in earnest to co-incide with the 2020 vision which has been the projection of the PNM administration since it took office two years ago.

In an exclusive interview with Sunday Newsday, chairman of the SMCL, Prem Nandlal, emphasised that “Government has given the sugar industry a new lease of life so that it would be less of a drain on the Treasury.” He explained, “What we have been mandated to do is to purchase canes from the 6,000 farmers  in the sugar belt, based on quality, with the aim of producing 75,000 tonnes or 80,000 tonnes of sugar annually operating the Usine Ste Madeleine Factory only.” He said that the new Board has been working assiduously to ensure that any possibility of a breakdown at the Usine Factory would be minimised when grinding operations begin  in January. He noted that should a breakdown occur repairs would be effectively handled to ensure that the projected target of 75,000 of sugar is met. Nandlal, who was the president for two years of the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce, as well as the CEO of the National Petroleum Company Limited, and Deputy Managing Director of PCS Nitrogen Trinidad Limited (formerly Arcadian Trinidad Limited) stressed that contrary to rumours, “...the sugar indsutry is not targeted for closure”.

He explained that there has been a restructuring exercise which gives the SMCL the mandate to produce sugar only, rather than be involved in the planting of sugar cane. “The SMCL is principally involved in  producing sugar at a minimum cost to earn a profit so that the main stakeholder, (the Government) would be drawing dividends at the end of the day,” Nandlal said. Nandlal who was also the CEO of the Trinidad and Tobago Urea Company Limited and also acted as CEO of the Iron and Steel Company of Trinidad and Tobago, is at present a consultant to the National Energy Skills Centre and the Kaizen Environmental Services Limited. He has a total of 32 years experience in the business field and considers this appointment  a challenge, one that he has dedicated to the memory of his mother and father, both of whom were involved in the sugar industry as cane cutters and later as farmers at Garth Road, Williamsville. Nandlal said that the Usine Factory will employ approximately around 1100 persons.