Litia Cava 
The government has confirmed that no formal review of Fiji’s dairy industry has taken place.
Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad admitted in Parliament that only internal assessments were done by the Agriculture Ministry during budget preparations for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026.
He said the industry’s collapse began in 2012 when Rewa Dairy was sold to Southern Cross Foods, a CJ Patel-owned company, which was granted a 32 percent duty protection and tax-free access to import powdered and liquid milk.
Prof Prasad said the deal failed to deliver on its promises to boost local production and support farmers.
Instead, it allowed the company to import milk products without price control, pushing up consumer costs while local output fell.
Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu accused the Minister of dodging the real question and failing to acknowledge the long-standing impact of brucellosis and tuberculosis, which he said has been affecting dairy herds since 2005.
He challenged the government to reveal how many cows were culled due to disease and accused the minister of ignoring earlier interventions, including a NZ$12 million rehabilitation deal signed with New Zealand in 2012.
Prof Prasad responded by shifting blame to the previous government for granting the protection deal, saying it led to a steady fall in production from 9 million litres in 2012 to around 6.5 million litres today.
He said the Ministry had reviewed the industry through budget planning, but did not hire consultants for a formal review.
The dairy sector remains in crisis, with only 264 out of over 1,000 registered farmers supplying the formal market and national milk demand now at 70 million litres annually.
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