Rice Company of Fiji hopeful that rice farming will bounce back

The Rice Company of Fiji is hopeful that rice farming in Fiji will increase significantly in the near future so that they can start rice milling in the country again.

Group Chief Executive Officer, Ram Bajekal said their state of art milling equipment is in good order however they only do cleaning and packing process in Fiji.

He said with government promoting more locally grown rice, there will be an opportunity for them to start rice milling in future when local rice or paddy production increases.

According to Bajekal they spend $40 million in importing 30,000 tonnes of rice every year.

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Bajekal said the removal of Import Duty on milled white rice in May 2008 by government had a very material impact on the operations and business model of the company.

He said virtually overnight the company had to shift from being a miller of rice to trader of white milled rice, which also resulted in 51 people losing their jobs.


Story by: Ronal Deo