PEOPLE’S Alliance Party president Ratu Josefa Dimuri has called for major reforms in the sugar industry, including handing over the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) to a private operator and concentrating sugar production at the Labasa Mill.
Ratu Josefa said the country needed to rethink the current structure of the industry, suggesting that sugar mills on Viti Levu should be closed and resources redirected towards improving cane quality and increasing production in the North.
“I would like to suggest that we close the mills on Viti Levu and only concentrate sugar production at Labasa.
“We should improve the quality of the crop and increase production there,” he said.
His comments followed concerns raised by Sugar Minister Tomasi Tunabuna that the Government was investing heavily in the sugarcane sector while receiving limited returns.
Mr Tunabuna had also highlighted that the Government was paying about $18million annually towards debts owed to organisations, including the Exim Bank of India.
Ratu Josefa said the current situation required urgent change, comparing the industry to a cow that was failing to provide the expected returns.
“The cow the Government has at the moment has not given them the milk they expected.”
“I believe it is time to make that shift. We have to make that shift because we cannot afford to wait any longer.”
He said Fiji could not continue relying on the sugar industry without implementing major reforms to improve its sustainability and productivity.
