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The Fiji government will see to it that the sugar industry is revived to become viable and sustainable before 2014, Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has promised.
“The government is committed to making the industry viable and sustainable irrespective of whether or not its development partners are with us and irrespective of the negative comments from the prophets of doom from within the country,” he told villagers Nukuloa, Ba during a recent visit there.
Bainimarama said the move to dissolve the Sugar Cane Growers Council was to rid the industry of politics as well as lessening the burden on farmers by way of reduced levy.
“The government is under no illusion that the industry faces some real challenge and this includes the survival of the Fiji Sugar Corporation, the improvement in mill efficiencies and the need to increase substantially cane production by another two million tones,” he added.
Bainimarama highlighted that efforts to address these issues are being vigorously pursued by the government.
“The objectives of the sugar industry reform in 2009 were to make the industry viable, to reduce industry over heads by dismantling the Fiji Sugar Marketing Company Limited and the Sugar Commission of Fiji which had a combined annual budget of $1.2 million.”
