The National Farmers Union (NFU) has written to the in-coming Minister for Sugar, Tomasi Tunabuna, and the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC), calling for the immediate termination of the crushing season at the Rarawai Mill and the payment of stand-over cane compensation to affected farmers.
In its submission, the NFU is seeking a compensation payment of $35 per tonne for cane that remains unharvested.
The Rarawai Mill was shut down for almost three months from 17 September following fire damage, and it is estimated that more than 140,000 tonnes of cane remain unharvested across the Ba, Tavua, Ra and Lautoka mill areas.
NFU General Secretary Mahendra Chaudhry said farmers are struggling to harvest and deliver cane due to persistent wet weather since the mill resumed operations.
“Farmers are facing great difficulty in harvesting and delivering cane to the mill because of the extremely wet weather in the last two weeks,” Mr Chaudhry said.
“Harvesting machines cannot be operated in such weather, resulting in disruptions to cane supply to the mill and causing huge losses to both growers and FSC,” he added.
Mr Chaudhry said the industry is now deep into the wet season, with the Christmas holidays approaching and an acute shortage of labour already affecting harvesting efforts.
“Many farmers have given up hope of getting their cane harvested,” he said.
The NFU said all growers with stand-over cane, including those in the Labasa and Lautoka mill areas, should be compensated at $35 per tonne, equivalent to one-third of the 2024 season cane price of $101.13.
The union also blamed laxity by FSC and mill management for the fire at Rarawai, saying farmers should not bear the consequences.
It is also calling for a refund of all burnt cane penalties deducted since 17 September 2025 and for the restoration of the lorry allowance from $10 back to $15 per tonne.
“The farmers cannot continue to bear the burden of such inefficiencies,” Mr Chaudhry said.
