Mechanical issues at the Lautoka sugar mill on Tuesday resulted in lorry operators waiting for more than 18 hours to unload their cane.
Lautoka truck driver Davendra Prasad said he and others from as far as Sigatoka and Rakiraki who had been there since Tuesday morning, finally managed to unload their cane on Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s very disappointing because everything stops when we are stuck here,” he said.
“I came from Drasa sector where we have mechanical harvesters waiting for us to return. When the machines are idle, we lose money.”
Mr Prasad said lorry drivers felt “neglected” by the Fiji Sugar Corporation when they were subjected to long hours of waiting without being provided food and water.
“Some of us come to the mill expecting to spend only two or three hours, so we don’t come with much money or food.”
He said they hoped the issues at the mill would be resolved before the crushing season ended.
“This is not the first time we have been kept waiting for so long.”
FSC chief executive officer Bhan Pratap Singh said the mill had been operating at 50 per cent crushing rate since 11.50pm Tuesday.
“We had mechanical issues at one of the cane carriers,” he said.
“The mill is expected to be operating at full capacity after 4pm (on Wednesday).”
