The Lautoka and Rarawai sugar mills have experienced temporary closures this crushing season due to a shortage of sugarcane, according to Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh. He confirmed that the mills had to cease operations on certain days because there wasn’t enough cane to keep them running, reported The Fiji Times.
“Sometimes we have to close the mills because there’s not enough sugar cane,” Singh said in an interview. He explained that running a mill without a sufficient supply of cane is financially impractical for the industry. “You cannot operate a mill with no cane—it’s a costly affair.”
He noted that the closures can sometimes lead to confusion among those affected, as the reasons aren’t always immediately clear. “It works both ways and sometimes people don’t understand why the mills are closed,” he said.
In addition to the low cane supply, Mr Singh pointed out that equipment failures, such as boiler breakdowns, have also caused delays. When the boilers malfunction, farmers and lorry drivers are often left waiting longer than expected.
Despite these issues, he mentioned that out of the three mills operated by the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC), the Labasa Sugar Mill has been the most efficient this season, experiencing minimal downtime.
