Fiji Sugar Corporation CEO Bhan Singh has said there was no synergy among some institutions in the sugar industry, stating the Sugar Research of Institute of Fiji (SRIF) and South Pacific Fertilisers (SPF) “now operate separately”.
Mr Singh said SRIF and SPF operating separately was “the real problem of the industry”.
“If the sugar is not there in the cane, the mill can’t do anything to improve TCTS (tonnes cane to tonnes sugar). All the mills can do is improve recovery,” he said.
“The FSC mills are operating efficiently, we need to improve the cane side of the business – the volume is low, and the quality is poor.
“Previously, FSC was responsible for the operations of SPF and SRIF – it changed probably 10-12 years ago.
“All these institutes now operate separately, so there is very little synergy between the institutes.
“SPF does something else, SRIF does something else – the real problem of the industry.
“They have their own boards, they have their own CEO’s, they have their own mandates, they have their own guidelines to operate, own Acts, so they operate on their own.”
