Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad has assured farmers who now have to divert their cane to Lautoka Mill from Rarawai Mill district will be given $15 per tonne as trasportation cost following the fire at Rarawai Mill.
While confirming this, Professor Prasad says farmers from Penang Mill area previously transporting cane to Rarawai will receive $15 per tonne on top of the usual $33 as transportation cost.
He says 400,000 tonnes of cane is yet to be harvested and he has also assured that no cane will be left unharvested.
The Acting Prime Minister says to ensure this, the Fiji Sugar Corporation, Ministry of Sugar and the Sugar Cane Growers Council are working together in a very careful, determined way to make sure that first they provide all the support to the farmers to continue harvesting and to continue to get their cane to Lautoka Mill.
He also says that no Rarawai Mill workers will lose their jobs as some staff, particularly technical personnel, will be temporarily shifted to Lautoka Mill to ensure its operations remain up to date, adding additional strength and resources for efficient and effective crushing.
Professor Prasad says the management will be at liberty to make arrangements in terms of leave and how it can be adjusted in the next two or three months.
The Acting Prime Minister also confirmed that investigations into the incident are ongoing, but FSC and mill management have already assessed the likely damage and prepared for repairs.
He says spare parts and infrastructure replacements are being arranged so that the mill could be fixed by the end of November and resume crushing in December.
Professor Prasad says if repairs are delayed, Lautoka Mill is capable of processing the remaining 400,000 tonnes of cane by December or early January.
He adds overall, the 2025 cane harvest is projected to increase significantly, from 1.3 million tonnes last year to an estimated 1.6 million tonnes.
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