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Fiji will be again importing sugar from India this year for regional and local market consumption.
The Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) said 45,000 tonnes of bagged sugar would be imported from India.
This is to ensure that Fiji’s sugar reaches the European Union market, which pays premium price, it said.
The FSC said the imported sugar would be diverted to meet local and regional needs.
This practice began last year when Fiji imported 30,000 tonnes in the 2007 season.
Last year, Fiji could not fulfill its quota to the EU due to lower production, following a drought.
The FSC also highlighted that the EU has agreed to provide Fiji with an additional sugar quota. This, despite a price reduction in preferential prices by 9.2 per cent in 2008, bringing total reduction by 14.3 per cent from 2006.
FSC’s acting chief executive officer, Deo Saran said that instead of the usual quota of about 172,500 as per the Cotonou Agreement, EU has given Fiji an additional quota of 56,500 for this year.
As a beneficiary of the Economic Partnership Agreement, Fiji has received 31,500 tonnes as additional tonnage and 25,000 tonnes as complimentary quota for the 2008 season.
This brings the total tonnes for the EU market to 229,000 this season compared to 188,000 for the 2007 season.
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