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Fiji Sugar Corporation chief executive officer Deo Saran says the corporation’s mill upgrade plans did not go according to expectations resulting in major losses last year.
Addressing concerns raised by villagers in Nukuloa, Ba, Saran said the FSC faced numerous problems at the beginning of the cane season last year.
He said the corporation thought the problems were commissioning issues and hoped that they would go away in a few weeks.
“However, we were plagued with the problem the entire season thus decreasing our cane production,” he said.
Saran also highlighted the need for better coordination between the mills and growers to prevent harvesting and processing of burnt or stale cane.
“With the assistance of army, field officers and voluntary farmers, we were able to decrease the percentage of burnt cane this year.”
“Despite this, people had burned the sugar cane before a quota was issued resulting in burned cane arriving in the mill making the processing difficult,” he added.
Saran said they realised the situation very late but have put in place initiatives and activities on the ground for better communication between the mill and the farmers.
“This worked to some extent and this is an area we will try to work on in the future to have better coordination between the two vital parties.”
Saran accompanied Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama during a tour of rural communities in the western division last week to address the concerns of farmers in the area.
