The Fiji Sugar Cooperation has discredited claims by dairy farmers who say that every time the milk production improves the price of molasses goes high.

The farmers made this claim following the announcement that average milk production per cow is at 6.5 litres this year, compared to five litres in 2018.

Northland Farmers’ Co-operative Chairman Hirday Lakhan says dairy farmers want any information on recovery in the industry to be kept quiet.

“We have been talking in the industry that when you  get a price increase we should try and keep the information quiet, a few weeks after the milk price increase there was a huge increase in one of the farm input which was molasses, it went from $80 to $102 a drum”

Molasses is the main feed for cows for which Fiji Sugar Corporation is the main supplier.

In an email response, FSC says that it’s pricing for molasses is determined by regional and world market prices.

FSC also says that the dairy industry and milk production are not determinants of molasses pricing and that the price of molasses to the dairy industry is discounted to the price charged to other local users.

Meanwhile, milk production has been affected as farmers’ struggles to curb Bovine Tuberculosis.