Minister for Sugar Tomasi Tubuna says the Rarawai Mill is operating at only half its crushing capacity because of insufficient cane supply.
Speaking at the Prime Minister’s Sugarcane Farmers’ Mill Award 2025 at the Ba Civic Centre yesterday, he said the mill had the capacity to crush one million tonnes of cane annually.
However, he said current production levels were well below what was needed to maximise operations and improve profitability across the sugar sector.
“The Rarawai mill has a capacity to crush one million tonnes annually but at present it is operating only at half its capacity,” Mr Tubuna said.
“Therefore, we need to increase cane supply to the factory to maximise its capacity utilisation.”
Mr Tubuna said improving sugarcane yields remained critical for the future of the industry.
“We must focus on improving sugarcane yield from the current yield of below 50 tonnes per hectare to 65 tonnes per hectare to make the industry profitable,” he said.
“The low yield is neither profitable for the farmers nor the mill.”
He also warned that climate change was becoming an increasing challenge for sugar-producing countries, including Fiji.
“It’s about diversifying income both at farm and sugar factory level,” he said.
“We cannot rely only on sugarcane as a single crop, but we must diversify crops for food and income security.”
Mr Tubuna added that sugar mills also needed to move beyond producing only raw sugar and focus on value-added products to remain sustainable.
Despite operational challenges caused by a fire outbreak at Rarawai Mill, he said 3,698 farmers supplied a total of 543,854 tonnes of cane during the 2025 season.
He commended farmers for their efforts and praised the Fiji Sugar Corporation for restoring operations and extending crushing until early January 2026.
Mr Tubuna reaffirmed the Coalition Government’s commitment to supporting the sugar industry and encouraged farmers to continue cane farming for the long-term sustainability of the sector.
