President of the Fiji National University Students Association, Ketan Lal has welcomed the increase in the price of sugar that will save many lives, and he also says some politicians are signaling to our youth that they have no real interest in saving lives.
Lal’s statement comes after the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission made a determination to increase the ex-warehouse price by 90 cents per kilogram.
Ketan Lal says every year sugar-related non communicable diseases claim the lives or limbs of thousands of Fijians.
Lal says we shockingly have the highest diabetes rate in the world.
He says it's not just sugar itself but countless sugar-filled products such as alcohol and candy that kill our people.
The President of FNU Students Association hopes people take this higher price as a positive reason to change their lives, especially our youth who, as future leaders of the nation, need to be healthy in body, mind and soul.
The youth leader urged Fijians to find healthier alternatives.
Lal expressed concern that some politicians are aggressively speaking out against the sugar price change and heavily politicizing the issue, while spreading misinformation.
He says some politicians speak against the sugar price increase while in the same breath attack the government on kidney dialysis. Lal says the major cause of kidney failure is diabetes, which sugar plays a significant role in.
The President of the FNU Students Association then says our sugar industry is something to be proud of as one of our largest industries supporting thousands of families however these politicians are discouraging farmers from investing in the lifeblood of our nation.
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