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A commission of inquiry into the performance of Fiji’s sugar mills will reveal the biggest factors behind decreasing sugar yields says Fiji Cane Growers Association general secretary Bala Dass.
Dass said the performance of the two biggest mills, Lautoka and Rarawai, is not helping.
He made the comments as the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) prepares to hand over its annual report to the government this week.
Dass said cane farmers are fighting tooth and nail to get their crop to the mills after the FSC suspended rail cartage services to certain areas.
Maintaining the locomotives and increasing fuel prices led the FSC to make the cost cutting decision.
Last week FSC chairman Deo Saran and other executives made a trip to India asking that the EXIM Bank of India defer repayments to its US$50 million line of credit to the corporation.
Repayments were to have begun last month.
This as government encourages cane farmers to increase their production volume with the price of sugar at an all-time high.
“Government is also committed to working closely with the Native Land Trust Board and the landowners to identify as much land as possible for re-issuance of leases for sugar cane farming, as well as other forms of agriculture,” said permanent secretary for Sugar, Parmesh Chand.
