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Cane farmers are bracing for major losses as the Lautoka sugar mill’s performance drops to its worst level in years.

The Fiji Sugar Corporation’s latest report shows it now takes 17 tonnes of cane to produce one tonne of sugar.

This is fall from the usual 10 tonnes and a clear sign of poor efficiency.

The mill crushed just over 29,000 tonnes of cane last week to produce 1,753 tonnes of sugar, well below its target of more than 31,000 tonnes of cane and 3,100 tonnes of sugar.

The National Farmers Union stated that this collapse in output is due to the mill processing stale and burnt cane, warning that the situation could worsen if urgent action is not taken.

At the current pace, it could take up to 12 weeks to crush the remaining 350,000 tonnes of cane in the Western Division.

The union states the crushing season may stretch into January next year unless the Rarawai Mill is repaired by December as promised by FSC.

NFU said the outlook for the 2025 season looks bleak, with sugar proceeds likely to drop and cane prices expected to fall.

The union is calling on the government to provide immediate relief by refunding burnt cane penalties, waiving deductions made since September, and raising the guaranteed minimum cane price from $85 to $106 per tonne.

It says the current price was set in 2018 even though production costs have risen by 25 percent since then.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has proposed an all-industry conference to address the sector’s problems.

This moce, according to the union follows repeated calls from farmers.

NFU states the government must act quickly to unite stakeholders and find solutions to save the struggling sugar industry before it declines further.

Questions have been sent to the Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs and Sugar Industry Charan Jeath Singh, who is yet to respond.

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