THE three sugar mills have shown notable improvements in operational performance compared with the 2025 crushing season, with better reliability, reduced downtime and improved sugar recovery, Parliament was told yesterday.
Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry Tomasi Tunabuna said the improvements were recorded up to September 21 and were contributing to higher sugar production from cane being processed.
“I wish to advise this August House that, based on the operational performance recorded on the September 21, 2026, the Fiji Sugar Corporation mills have generally performed well compared to the previous crushing season,” Mr Tunabuna said.
He said mill reliability had improved, while there had been a “substantial reduction” in downtime caused by maintenance and repairs.
“There has been an improvement in mill reliability, a substantial reduction in mill downtime for maintenance and repairs at the mills, improved sugar recovery, and better cane quality.”
Mr Tunabuna explained that planned maintenance stoppages, known as inside stops, were necessary to maintain factory reliability and efficiency.
However, he said unplanned stoppages caused by urgent repairs had been less frequent this season, despite the age of some machinery.
He said outside stops were different and occurred when mills had insufficient cane to crush, linking them directly to harvesting, cane availability, transportation and timely delivery.
Mr Tunabuna said FSC was also taking measures to improve cane quality and the timely supply of cane to the mills through continued engagement with growers and relevant stakeholders to discourage the burning of cane and daily monitoring of harvesting operations by FSC field staff.
