Executive chairman Fiji Pine Group Faiz Khan has called on the relevant authorities to closely monitor and stop the burning of sugarcane in the Western Division.

The call comes after a fire destroyed a 160 hectare plantation of two-year-old plants in Nadi two weeks ago.

Khan says the fire was caused by burning of sugarcane in a nearby sugarcane farm.

He adds the pine has been completely written off due to the immense damage from the fire.

The company had spent close to $1m in setting up that plantation over the last few years.

“We are calling on the authorities to put a complete ban on sugarcane burning. It was done last year and I think the authorities has missed a beat or two this year and the drought level this year is probably significantly higher than what it was last year so we need to put a complete ban on burning.”

Khan says they have engaged the Police and investigations into the case are on-going.

He adds that if burning, be it sugarcane or rubbish, needs to be banned to eliminate the chance of the fire getting out of control and spreading.