FINANCE Minister Professor Biman Prasad says the Government and sugar industry stakeholders are well aware of the impact the closure of the Rarawai mill will have on farmers, workers and lorry drivers, given that 400,000 tonnes of cane from Sigatoka to Rakiraki remains to be harvested and crushed.
Following a tour of the mill yesterday, Prof Prasad said the Government wanted to ensure that no cane would be left unharvested.
“So, in order to do that, FSC, the Ministry of Sugar, Growers Council, they are all working together in a very careful, determined way to make sure that, first, we provide all the support to the farmers to continue harvesting, to continue to get the cane to the Lautoka mill,” he said.
Prof Prasad said the Lautoka mill is well-equipped to handle the 400,000 tonnes of cane which were initially supposed to be distributed between the two mills for crushing.
“The anticipated timeline, and this is from the FSC, is that by the end of December, even if Rarawai mill is not fixed, by December or at the latest early January, Lautoka mill alone would crush all the 400,000 tonnes of cane that is left.”
After discussions with Sugar Minister Charan Jeath Singh, Prof Prasad confirmed this season’s cane harvesting target is an estimated 1.6 million tonnes, a significant increase in production for 2025 compared to the 1.3m tonnes harvested last year.
“With respect to the workers, FSC has already put in place plans, no worker is going to lose out,” he said.
