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The country’s first sugar crop, extended a few weeks because of delays,Arizona Diamondbacks Gregor Blanco Jersey, has passed last year’s production figures for the same period, the Ministry of Agriculture announced yesterday.GuySuCo’s CEO,Dr. Raj SinghHowever, there may not be much to crow about, as operating costs for the industry over those few extra weeks will have significantly negated or eaten away the profits that would have been made, union officials complained yesterday.GuySuCo would have been spending millions to not only keep the factories running but paying workers and other expenses.“The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) this week surpassed its first crop 2014 production.  The corporation has reached a production of 80,000 tonnes of sugar which is approximately eight percent increase over its 2014 first crop production,” the Ministry said in a statement.The Ministry disclosed that the 2015 first crop target stands at 83,000 tonnes with GuySuCo set to achieve it. The original crop target had been 86,201 tonnes sugar.Last year, GuySuCo’s first crop target was set at 74,616 tonnes – the industry recorded 74,842 tonnes.Yesterday, the Ministry was mum on details about production at the US$200M new Skeldon factory which has been proving a drag on the industry. Its statement did indicate that Albion, Blairmont and Skeldon are still grinding.The Ministry said that there are encouraging signs at Skeldon, with the facility’s punt dumpers improving in performance.The US$200M Skeldon factory is doing better, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.“It is therefore encouraging to note that over the last 24 hours, the Skeldon sugar factory has produced over 415 tonnes of sugar at a TC-TS (tonne cane per tonne sugar) of approximately 12.”Skeldon’s throughput of cane loading has been 280 tonnes per hour.“The targeted throughput for the Skeldon factory is 300 tonnes per hour. GuySuCo has seen the new punt dumper increasing its capacity gradually towards the 300 tonnes per hour target and it is expected that the corporation will reach a routine throughput of 300 tonnes per hour.”“Uitvlugt, Blairmont, Wales, Rose Hall and Albion estates have all surpassed the 2015 first crop target and it is expected that Enmore and Skeldon will also reach its target before it closes down grinding for the first crop,” the Ministry said.Kaieteur News had reported last month the industry had extended its first crop to May.As of mid-April, the multi-billion-dollar Skeldon factory had recorded a mere 2,656 tonnes of the 17,214 tonnes targeted. Grinding began almost a month late in mid-March and was set to last eight weeks. This was because work was being done to fix the punt dumpers which troubled the factory since being commissioned in 2009.Extending the crop will impact the expenses of GuySuCo which has been fighting to keep costs down.The industry is in deep trouble, with Government announcing recently that it was forced to sell the US$32M co-generation plant at Skeldon estate, to the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), to raise some US$30M.The US$200M Skeldon project has failed to produce as expected, with one problem after the next. The industry itself is producing sugar at double the price it is selling for.Government has plugged more than US$50M in recent years which went mostly to help pay salaries and other overheads.The administration wants to spend $20B over the next five years to turn the fortunes of the industry around. Sugar has been one of the major issues raised during campaigning ahead of Monday’s general elections.With 16,000 employees, Government has been on the backfoot to defend the billions being spent annually with little to show for it. It has accused the Opposition of wanting to close the industry.However, the Opposition coalition says that it merely wants GuySuCo to table a business plan that is practical.GuySuCo had promised a Parliamentary committee that it would have tabled a plan for the industry’s turnaround since last year, but has failed to do so.