The National Farmers Union (NFU) has called on the Fiji Sugar Corporation Limited and Government to urgently release the Third Cane Payment for the 2025 season, saying farmers are still waiting despite expectations it would be paid last Friday.
In a statement, the NFU said cane farmers nationwide had anticipated the payment by the end of March, but there has been no announcement on either the payment date or the amount.
“Cane farmers nationwide were expecting it to come through yesterday, it being the last Friday of the month,” the union said.
The NFU also raised concerns over other outstanding payments owed to farmers, including the additional $3 per tonne for manually harvested cane promised by former sugar minister Charan Jeath Singh.
“FSC has not so far paid the additional $3 per tonne for manually harvested cane as promised,” the union said.
It added that productivity incentive payments of $5 per tonne for farmers producing above their Basic Farm Allotment also remain unpaid.
The NFU said attempts to obtain clarification from FSC, the Sugar Industry Tribunal and the Sugar Cane Growers Council had been unsuccessful.
“It seems no one works in their offices on a Friday afternoon,” the union stated.
The union is now calling for all outstanding payments, including cane replanting grants owed to hundreds of farmers, to be settled with the next scheduled cane payment in May 2026.
