Good news for Labasa cane farmers says Fiji Labour Party

Crushing at the Labasa Mill will now be extended to Saturday, 29 November instead of the previously announced closure of Monday, 24 November, says the Fiji Labour Party.

This was the assurance given to Labour Leader and NFU general secretary Mahendra Chaudhry at the FSC annual general meeting in Lautoka this morning when he raised the issue again.

Meanwhile, crushing at the fire-devastated Rarawai Mill was likely to resume by 10 December, tentatively, FSC said.

NFU had earlier called on the Sugar Industry Tribunal to review the Labasa Mill closure date set at 24 November as the mill area still had 40,000 tonnes of cane remaining in the fields, awaiting crush.

FSC chairman Nitya Reddy gave the assurance that FSC will try and take in as much cane at Labasa as possible. The situation will be monitored closely and the date extended beyond 29 November, if necessary.

The Corporation announced a paper profit of $105.7m at the AGM today based purely on a $200.2million government debt write-off assistance to the Corporation.

Despite this, according to the FLP, the Corporation remains heavily indebted. It announced $72m in impairment losses, falling industry revenue against rising operating costs and “continued weaknesses across all mills and infrastructure”.