Fiji Sugar Corporation Blamed for Industry's Decline; Farmers Feel Mistreated

Rakiraki businessman and cane farmer George Shiu Raj has directly blamed the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) for the downfall of the sugar industry. Presenting his submission to the Special Committee on the Sugar Industry, Raj argued that while hundreds of farmers rely on the FSC for their livelihood, they do not receive the treatment they deserve.

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You must remember that healthy wages have been given to you with the sweat of the farmers, but still you say the farmers do not supply us the right quality of cane.

Raj criticized the FSC's treatment of farmers, stating that workers sometimes treat them "like we are slaves." He highlighted issues such as farmers being penalized for burning cane, which leads to further losses. He also described how farmers face delays in receiving tickets to supply their cane to the mill, questioning if this is another "gimmick."

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And for three days, they hold the ticket. They don’t want to give the ticket to supply the cane to the mill. Is this another gimmick for us? And after three days, they go. Where will the quality of the cane go?

Furthermore, Raj asserted that farmers deserve a cane payment of $110 per tonne, contrasting it with the current average of $3,000 to $4,000 over 17 months. He urged the CEO to remember the "cry of the 11,000 farmers" and their families, emphasizing that the CEO's position is funded by the farmers' labor. The special committee assured farmers that the current $85 per tonne payment is a minimum and will be reviewed.

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But here, sometimes the FSC workers, they treat us like we are slaves. We are from the Girmit era, when the British people brought us to this country, our great-grandfathers.