The Minister for Multi Ethnic Affairs and Sugar, Hon. Charan Jeath Singh, was accorded a traditional welcome by the management and staff of the Fiji Sugar Corporation Labasa Mill today (11.01.23).
In his address, Minister Singh said major changes can be expected in the operations of the FSC – from relying heavily on Government funding into an independent commercial entity.
He highlighted that the sugar industry was ailing and it’s revival was vital for the economy as more than 200,000 Fiji citizens rely on it as a source of income for their families.
Minister Singh stressed that there was a need for FSC to make profit to keep itself afloat, thus a commercial approach would be taken to achieve this.
“We have to make profit, even if we do not make much profit at first, but we do not want Government to keep pouring money into this industry – this industry has to survive and be afloat on its own,” he explained.
“When I was a child in Labasa, the industry was flourishing, there was sugarcane everywhere, from here till Seaqaqa, you go all the way to Lagalaga, Daku, there was so much cane, but today, there’s a drastic drop in the supply of sugar cane.”
He said that there were a lot of factors that led to the decrease in productivity and revenue from the industry, and there was a need to address this and this would only be possible through working together.
Minister Singh said a meeting will be called on January 25th in this regard, where all institutions tied to the sugar industry would meet to discuss solutions and map a way forward.
The Minister will be meeting the Labasa Chamber of Commerce tonight as part of his Northern tour.
