Rakiraki businessman and cane grower George Shiu Raj has backed the proposal to privatise the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC), but says the country’s ageing sugar mills must first be replaced.
His comments follow Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s suggestion in Cakaudrove this week that the Government was considering privatising FSC.
“Now, the honourable Prime Minister is saying to sell the sugar mills to the private sector,” Mr Shiu Raj said.
“It’s a good idea, not a bad one, but probably we have to ask who is going to buy it? These two mills (Lautoka and Rarawai) are very old mills now.
“They were built during the British Colonial Sugar Refining Company era, and we have to look into how we can operate these mills.”
Mr Shiu Raj said the Chinese government had offered to assist the current administration with building a new mill in 2025. He said the proposed mill would process 1.9 million tonnes of cane, with the Chinese company requiring land capable of producing 300,000 tonnes of cane and buying the remaining 1.6 million tonnes from farmers.
“That is a good idea if a new mill can be built because the two mills in Lautoka and Ba are very old mills and this is why FSC is not making money,” he said.
Mr Shiu Raj said operating costs were high whenever the ageing mills experienced breakdowns.
“The mills are very old, and the honourable Prime Minister likes to say that we can now probably sell these mills to the private sector.
“But we have to produce more cane, not 1.5 million tonnes of cane from the Northern and Western divisions.
“It would be a good idea if the farmers can get four million tonnes of cane.”
He said the sugar industry needed a new mill to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Mr Shiu Raj said a new mill in the Western Division capable of processing between 1.9 million and 2.5 million tonnes of cane would help increase production, reduce costs and improve profitability.
“FSC would have more than 2.2 million tonnes of cane to have a profit.
“We got only 1.4 million tonne or 1.5 million tonne; that is why FSC is not making money.”
In November last year, a delegation from the People’s Republic of China presented a proposal for a new sugar mill project to former Sugar Minister Charan Jeath Singh, Member of Parliament Professor Biman Prasad, FSC board chair Nitya Reddy, board members and former permanent secretary Dr Vinesh Kumar at the FSC Training Centre in Lautoka.
The China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation team outlined initial mill designs, proposed technology upgrades and a possible funding model.
The Government had committed to building a new mill in the Western Division but has not disclosed its location.
