Opposition MP Viam Pillay has questioned why cane farmers are being ordered to begin harvesting next month without first being told the guaranteed price they will receive for their crop.
Mr Pillay said the planned June 10 start to the crushing season was placing enormous pressure on growers already struggling with rising costs, labour shortages and poor road conditions.
“The Tribunal and FSC are staring at calendars in Lautoka, but they need to look at the mud in the fields,” he said in a statement.
“They want cane on the trucks by June 9 while leaving farmers broke, sector roads broken, and the guaranteed price of the crop still unannounced.”
Mr Pillay claimed growers were being forced to commit to harvesting without certainty over how much they would be paid.
“Why order a mandatory start date without announcing the guaranteed cane price? Since when must a farmer hand over his livelihood without knowing the pay?” he asked.
He warned that the 2026 harvesting season was shaping up to be “the most expensive harvest in Fiji’s history”, citing rising labour and transport costs.
According to Mr Pillay, cane cutters were now demanding up to $40 per tonne because of worker shortages, while higher diesel prices were pushing up lorry rates and squeezing transport margins.
He also said many farmers had already exhausted their April cane payment repaying old debts and now lacked cash to pay workers or fuel advances ahead of harvesting.
“Farmers have no cash left for fuel or labour advances for June 9,” he said.
Mr Pillay further criticised the condition of sector roads, saying many remained damaged by potholes, washouts and collapsed crossings.
“When trucks break axles on unrepaired sector roads next month, will the Ministry cover the damage, or will the farmer carry the loss alone?” he asked.
He said opening the mills without fixing roads, releasing payments or announcing the guaranteed cane price was “not a plan”.
“It is an expensive political show. And right now, the farmers are the ones being forced to pay for the tickets,” Mr Pillay said.
