National Farmers Union General Secretary Mahendra Chaudhry has called on Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to move beyond promises and take immediate action to address the crisis facing Fiji’s sugar industry, warning that growers will not harvest cane at a loss.
In a statement, Mr Chaudhry criticised the Government’s handling of the sector, saying the Prime Minister’s Special Parliamentary Committee on Sugar, established a year ago to review the industry, failed to meet until 3 July 2026, after the NFU urged the Prime Minister to intervene in the cane price dispute.
“He appointed a Special Parliamentary Committee on Sugar a year ago in what he described as ‘a bold move’. But did nothing to convene a single meeting of the committee until the National Farmers Union wrote to him,” Mr Chaudhry said.
He said the committee had since met with farmers in the Western Division, where the Prime Minister and the Minister for Sugar indicated they would consider growers’ concerns.
“Some four weeks later the growers are still waiting for government’s response.”
Mr Chaudhry said the Fiji Sugar Corporation continued to operate all three mills on a stop-start basis because of low cane supply, resulting in high operating costs and low sugar production.
He said while Government and industry leaders continued urging farmers to harvest more cane, they had failed to address the underlying issues affecting growers.
“There is NO dialogue with the growers.”
Mr Chaudhry said farmers had consistently raised concerns about the current forecast cane price and delivery payment, arguing they were insufficient to cover harvesting costs.
“They are asking for a fair, sustainable cane price and delivery payment. They want the Forecast Price and the Delivery payment for 2026 increased so that they can harvest their cane without running into huge losses.”
He also criticised comments by the Prime Minister focusing on long-term reforms while, he claimed, failing to address the immediate harvest crisis.
“The Prime Minister talks about long-term changes to the industry but said nothing about resolving the current crisis.”
Mr Chaudhry said discussions about the industry’s future were important but warned that the immediate priority should be restoring cane supply and keeping the mills operating.
“But the immediate need is to get the cane cut and the mills going. For this to happen, the growers’ concerns must be addressed first.”
