Copra farmers in Cakaudrove have questioned the Government’s appointment of the new board and management of Fiji Coconut Millers Ltd.
The farmers are concerned about issues that followed the appointment, including the absence of copra deals over the past two months. Frustrated farmers have called on the Government to fix the problem because the issues never arose with the previous board and management.
Farmer Karl Smith described “the new board and management as an incompetent team because the dying industry was suffering in their hands”.
“This has never happened before. Since the appointment of the new management and board, the situation has gotten worse. This is terrible,” he said.
“In this industry, 10 per cent of copra comes from freehold land while 90 per cent comes from the villages, so it’s the indigenous community that is directly affected.
“Our copra has not been purchased for the past two months and some farmers have had to transport their copra by boat from the villages and travel close to Savusavu to get to the mill.”
Mr Smith has called on the Government to urgently look into this issue.
Ministry of Public Enterprise permanent secretary Parmesh Chand said earlier this year, the boiler at the mill exploded which resulted in ‘no oil production from February this year’.
“Despite this, the company with the assistance of the Government continued to show commitment to the farmers by buying whole-nuts, raw and dry copra in areas around the Cakaudrove province,” he said.
“Through proper planning and implementation of effective strategies by the board and management, the factory in Savusavu commenced oil production on October 30, 2023.
“Therefore, there was no buying of whole-nuts, raw and dry copra from farmers for seven days only, that is from November 10-17, 2023.”
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