Ministry of Sugar Industry

Akisi Vinaka Joins FSC Board of Directors

The Ministry of Sugar Industry welcomes Ms. Akisi Vinaka to the Board of Directors for the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC).

Ms. Vinaka has recently been appointed to the FSC board by Minister for Sugar Industry, Hon. Charan J. Singhi in concurrence with the Prime Minister.

Ms. Vinaka is the first female member to be appointed to the FSC’s Board. She brings 23 years of Farming experience as a cane farmer and is an active community worker for the past 24 years working in various districts of Macuata Province in Vanua Levu.

Minister Singh has warmly welcomed the newly appointed member to the FSC Board of Directors and assured her of all support from the Ministry.

He said her capabilities and experience will build a robust affiliation between the farmers, community, FSC, and other sugar industry stakeholders, including the Ministry.

While commenting on her appointment, Ms. Vinaka highlighted the importance of building a bonding between the cane farmers and the FCS to understand the challenges that farmers go through.

“One of my key objectives is to elevate the Sugar Industry and the cane production in the coming years, “she said.

“Now since I have been appointed as one of the board members, I will be working closely with farmers to resolve some of the problems they face such as Cane Cartage and the development of Hilly land for cane production,” she said.

Ms. Vinaka said one of her key objectives is to inaugurate more cane farmers by resolving constraints and difficulties the farmers face working jointly with the farmers and the Ministry of Sugar Industry.

Ms. Vinaka is a Sugar Cane farmer and a very active community worker in the Nadogo District in Macuata. She is also serving as a gang leader for 12 gangs in the Wainikoro sector, a community health worker for Lagalaga Sector, Gang Delegate for Fair Trade, among other major contributions within the sugar industry in Labasa.

Honorable Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs & Sugar Industry meets with the Australian High Commissioner to Fiji.

Hon. Minister Charan J. Singh met with Australia’s Chargé d' Affaires to Fiji, Mr. Stuart Watts at the Ministry of Multi–Ethnic Affairs & Sugar Industry.

Hon. Minister congratulated Commissioner Watts on his diplomatic assignment to Fiji and commended Australia’s ongoing bilateral cooperation in advancing interests of mutual priorities at the regional level. Fiji and Australia share a close history of strong ties encompassing heritage, culture, multiethnic, and agriculture.

The primary reason for the meeting was to comprehend how Australia has progressed, promoted reforms, and restructure its sugar industry. Mr. Watts highlighted the long-term economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the Australian sugar industry by undertaking structural change, rationalization, and exploring diversification in the sugar market.

Hon. Charan Singh highlighted that Fiji is keen to learn from the experience & success of the Australian sugar industry, especially in areas of power co-generation, ethanol production, and production of refined sugar. The fruitful discussions also revolved around inviting investors from Australia to participate in the partnership arrangements to revive the 4th sugar mill in – Rakiraki while gaining insights into Australia’s railway systems and farm mechanizations.

While identifying key challenges of the sugar industry as Climate Change & its impact, shortage of labor, aging growers & lack of interest in cane farming by youths, Honorable Singh emphasized on sharing of expertise, training, and schemes to establish best practices and for the sugar industry to prosper.

Minister Singh conveyed his appreciation to the High Commissioner and stated that Fiji is looking forward to working with the Australian Government to develop learnings and better approaches to improving the sugar sector of Fiji.

The honorable Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs & Sugar Industry meets with the New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji.

Hon. Minister Charan J. Singh met with the New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji, Her Excellency Charlotte Darlow at the Ministry of Multi–Ethnic Affairs today. She was accompanied by the Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Alex Shahryar-Davies.

Hon. Minister congratulated Commissioner Darlow on her diplomatic assignment to Fiji and commended New Zealand’s ongoing bilateral cooperation in advancing interests of mutual priorities at the regional level. Fiji and New Zealand share a close history of strong ties encompassing heritage, culture, sports, business, and education.

The primary reason for the meeting was to comprehend how the Government of New Zealand has successfully implemented its policies of bringing all ethnic communities together, through its Ministry of Multi-Ethnic Communities (MEC).

The meeting focused on the urgent need to deploy expertise towards the development of Fiji’s strategies in Multi-Ethnic Affairs and culture in accordance with the policies of the new government. Hon Minister highlighted the objective is to research and develop policies that will enable the ministry to provide an equitable opportunity in addressing the development needs of all diverse cultural communities and its implementation towards self-help and cultural educational assistance programmes.

Minister Singh conveyed his appreciation to the High Commissioner and stated that Fiji is looking forward to working with the Ministry of Ethnic – Communities in New Zealand to develop learnings and better approaches to establishing the Ministry of Multi–Ethnic Affairs via staff exchange programs.

MINISTRY OF MULTIETHNIC AFFAIRS AND SUGAR INDUSTRY BUDGET 2023- 2024

The Minister of the Multiethnic Affairs and Sugar Industry is pleased to present the Ministry of Sugar Industry 2023 - 2024 Budget.

The Ministry of Multiethnic Affairs and Sugar Industry was provided an allocation of $51.7m; an increase of $6.3m or 14.1% from the $45.3m allocated in the 2022 – 2023 Budget.

The increase of the budget is owed to the introduction of a new line Ministry of Multiethnic Affairs with funding of $2.0m and the introduction of new budget items one of which is the drainage for sugarcane farms with an allocation of $5.5m. Now that the world market for sugar has improved, the government's contribution has also been reduced. The allocated funds are sufficient to ensure that growers will receive the guaranteed price of $85 per ton of sugarcane.

My Ministry is focusing to increase the cane production for the 2024 season through the Sugar Cane Development and Farmers Assistance ($5.0m), Fertilizer Subsidy ($20.0m), Weedicide subsidy ($1.0m), Drainage for Sugarcane Farms ($5.5m) and New Farmers and lease premium assistance ($2.0m).

Sugar Cane Development and Farmers Assistance Sugarcane programme.
To support the aim of the Sugar Industry to increase the current cane production of 1.6 million tonnes to 1.9 million tonnes by the 2024 season, Sugar Cane Development and Farmers Assistance Sugarcane programme budget has been increased from $1 million to $5 million.
The 1.9 million tonnes could be achieved by bringing under-utilized land to cane production, replacing uneconomical ratoon, improving the adoption of new technologies, promoting best husbandry practices, and improving soil health.

Fertilizer Subsidy Programme
To support the increase in sugar cane productivity, proper fertilization is significantly needed. A budget of $20 million has been allocated for Fertilizer subsidy.

Weedicide Subsidy Programme
Weedicide is crucial to the growth of cane in controlling the w**ds, to produce good yielding sugarcane.
A budget of $1 million has been allocated for the w**dicide program.
The subsidy will assist sugarcane farmers afford effective w**d control measures, ensuring that their crops are not overshadowed or outcompeted by invasive w**d species.

Cane Access Road Programme
Cane Access Road a crucial transportation network for the movement of sugarcane from the fields to the mills.
An allocation of $2 million has been allocated to ensure that farmers transport their cane to the mill with no stand over cane.
Currently more than 80% of the cane supplied to the mill is delivered through the road network.
The sugar industry is often concentrated in rural areas, where the availability and condition of road infrastructure can be limited. By allocating a budget of $2m for cane access roads, government has ensured the overall connectivity and accessibility of these rural areas.
This not only benefits the sugar industry but also supports the development of rural communities, enabling many residents to access essential services, markets, and urban facilities.

Cane Cartage Programme
Cane cartage program which provides transportation cost relief by ensuring farmers are not burdened with the excess cost of transporting their cane from Penang mill area to Rarawai mill, A budget of $4.9 million has been allocated to this programme.
The program will continue with a budget of $4,961,098 which will allow the Penang mill farmers to transport over 130,000 tonnes of cane to the Rarawai mill.

Farm mechanization programme
The Sugar Industry has been facing a recurring and major challenge of labor shortages and aging farmers. There is a lack of laborers, and cane cutters, and a shortage of the latest farming equipment for farm management.

To ensure the viability of the sugar industry, there needs to be a huge shift towards mechanization.

Farm mechanization programme aimed at encouraging sugar cane farmers to embrace mechanization which will reduce labor dependency. A budget of $500,000 has been allocated to the programme.

My ministry has revived two programmes to assist and support the new and existing cane farmers in providing relief to their cost of production.

Small Grants Scheme Programme
Ministry of Sugar Industry has continuously provided grant assistance to cane farmers with input subsidies, harvesting, machinery, and transportation. However, farmers are still having difficulties in meeting expenses for some basic farm needs such as implementation tools and machinery, fencing materials for cane farms, safe drinking water, and irrigation implements.

The sugar individual Small Grants Scheme with a budget of $0.5 million aims to enhance support to farmers by way of livelihood support that will assist the farmers to diversify and not lean on only sugarcane income.

New Farmers and Lease Premium Assistance Programme
To ensure the viability of the sugar industry, Ministry needs to take measures to attract new farmers while at the same time maintaining those good cane farmers by providing some relief for their lease renewals.
The New farmers and Lease Premium Assistance which is aimed at new farmers who wish to invest and enter the industry, a budget of $2 million has been allocated for lease premium assistance, to ensure that the much-needed relief is provided to the new farmer who has financial hardships.

In addition, my Ministry is introducing three new programs to assist the sugarcane farmers with issues faced on the ground as well as motivate them to increase their cane production.

Drainage for Sugarcane Farms Programme
Climate change has affected the sugarcane farmers through frequent rain and flooding which caused drainage issues resulting in waterlogged cane fields. Consequently, this has resulted in a significant reduction in cane production.
A program for drainage for sugarcane farms has been allocated $5.5 million to address the neglected drainage system in the sugarcane areas.

The drainage programme will comprise infield drainage clearing, main drains clearing, culverts, and floodgates that require repairing or maintenance to enable farmers to cultivate cane areas adequately with potential good yield.

Cage Bins Programme
To support the mechanical harvester on the ground, my Ministry has introduced a cage bin program, allocating $1 million to produce an additional 50 cage bins to assist those farmers on rail mode.
The growers nearer to the mills can absorb the increase, those located in the outer areas are not able to sustain themselves and are slowly leaving from the industry.
This is to ease rail transportation issues for sugarcane farmers.

Farmer Incentive Programme
Farmers are producing cane below its optimum level. Our average production is 47 tons per hectare while several countries including India, Brazil, Mauritius, and Eswatini are producing above 90 tons per hectare.

To motivate farmers to increase their yield and productivity, my Ministry is providing incentives to farmers through financial rewards or bonuses in addition to their normal cane proceeds through the Farmer Incentive Program.
I have allocated $1 million to encourage farmers to adopt best practices, invest in modern farming techniques, and improve the overall efficiency of their operations.

Manual harvesting support program
Manual harvesting support program aimed at the 60% hilly terrain farms in harvesting their cane. A budget of $1 million has been allocated to the programme.
Manual harvesting is well-suited for sugarcane fields with challenging terrain or difficult to access farms.
The sugar industry has close to 60% farms which can be termed as hilly and the budget support of $1 million will assist farmers in these hilly areas to have their farms harvested.
This will create employment opportunities and foster income generation for our rural communities.

With this grant and subsidy programme, I am confident with the farmer's commitment, we can produce 1.9 million in the 2024 season.

I would like to convey my appreciation to the Minister of Finance, Honorable Biman Prasad for his tremendous support towards the Sugar Industry.

Honorable Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs & Sugar Industry meets with the Chinese Ambassador to Fiji.

Hon. Minister Charan J. Singh met with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Fiji, His Excellency Mr. Zhou Jian at the Chinese Embassy today.

Hon. Minister congratulated Ambassador Zhou on his diplomatic assignment to Fiji and the Pacific and commended China’s ongoing bilateral cooperation in advancing interests of mutual priorities at the regional level.

He also acknowledged the People’s Republic of China for its contribution to Fiji over the years in supporting Fiji Government’s development priorities in areas, particularly in Agriculture and infrastructure development.

The meeting focused on the development of Fiji’s sugar industry mainly in areas of assistance in sugar research and deployment of agricultural and technical expertise from China to Fiji. Minister Charan also discussed with Ambassador on the need for diversification to value-added crops and projects such as Ethanol production and co-generation of power. He stated that it would be beneficial for Fiji to seek assistance in terms of experts and funding since China is a large agricultural country.

Minister Singh conveyed his appreciation to the Ambassador and stated that Fiji is looking forward to working with the People’s Republic of China to develop learnings and better approaches to reviving the sugar industry.

FIJI PARTICIPATES IN THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CANE AND SUGAR 2023 in BANGKOK, THAILAND

The Director of Policy, Planning & Research of Ministry of Sugar Industry, Ms. Reshmi Kumari is currently in Thailand to participate in the 2nd International Conference on Cane and Sugar 2023.

Ms. Kumari has been invited as a Keynote Speaker by the President of Thailand Society of Sugar Cane Technologies (TSSCT), Associate Professor Wirat Vanichsriratana to speak at the Conference along with other academics and sugar industry experts from Thailand, India, Vietnam, Japan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Brazil.

While thanking the President of the TSSCT and the organizers of the Conference, the Permanent Secretary of the Sugar Industry, Mr. Yogesh Karan said that participation at such conferences will provide avenues to promote Fiji as a sugar-producing country and seek opportunities to collaborate with other countries to move our sugar industry forward. In Thailand, Ms. Kumari would also explore ways to partner with Thailand's sugar industry and universities in areas of agricultural machinery & harvesters, value-addition of sugar products, and manufacturing of bioplastics that would support the implementation of Fiji’s climate change adaptation strategies.

The conference with the theme “Towards BCG Economy; Smart Farm to Bio-Industry” will be held from 5 – 7 July 2023 at Asawin Grand Convention Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.

Ministry of Sugar Industry Budget 2023/24

PS Sugar Industry & Multi-Ethnic Affairs Officiated SCGF Open Day.

The Sugar Cane Growers Fund held their Open Day in Kabisi, Sigatoka. The Permanent Secretary for Sugar Industry & Multi Ethnics Affairs- Mr. Yogesh J Karan officiated the Open Day.

PS thanked the SCGF team for their support and assistance to the cane growers. He shared with the farmers the Sugar industry budget that was highlighted on Friday and he encouraged farmers to take advantage of the new budget by working hard to increase their cane production. PS praised SCGF for holding the Open Day and bringing it closer to the cane farmers.

The Open Day was officiated in Kabisi, Sigatoka while all the district offices were open to support the Open Day. Present at the Open were the South Pacific Fertilizer Ltd, Business Link Pacific, and Medical Services Pacific.

On the Open Day, farmers accessed advice from SPF, business advice from BLP, and free medical checkups. Farmers also had the chance to enquire and raise concerns to the SCGF CEO and senior officers.

Permanent Secretary of Multi-Ethnic & Sugar Industry meets Brazilian Government Delegation

The Permanent Secretary of Multi-Ethnic Affairs & Sugar Industry, Mr. Yogesh Karan met with the officials from the Brazilian delegation led by Mr. Paulo Elias Martins de Moraes, Director of the Department of Japan, the Korean Peninsula and Pacific, at his office. The other delegation members were Ms. Mariana Siqueira Marton, Second Secretary, Brazilian Embassy, Canberra, Mr. Antonio Divino Junqueira, Brazil Cooperation Agency, and Ms. Daniela Aviani, Agricultural attaché, Brazilian Embassy, Canberra.

During his introductory remarks, Mr. Moraes mentioned that the purpose of their visit was to promote relations between the Brazilian and the Fijian Government and to explore opportunities for cooperation in the sugar sector.

While welcoming the delegation, Mr. Karan thanked them for visiting the Ministry and highlighted that it would be very beneficial for Fiji to cooperate with the Brazil Government, especially with their sugar industry given that Brazil is the largest Ethanol producer in the world. Brazil has also advanced its expertise in areas of sugarcane production, and sugarcane technologies, especially in mechanization, research, and development of sugarcane, value addition, and efficient milling operations. Mr. Karan requested the delegation if cooperation could be developed between the two countries on possibilities for the deployment of Brazilian experts to Fiji to assist research, mainly in areas of value addition including ethanol production, refinery, and manufacturing custom-made mechanical harvesters to suit Fiji’s hilly land topography.

Mr. Moraes conveyed his support and agreed to pursue technical assistance based on Fiji’s specific needs and offered to arrange for Fiji’s visit to Brazil to see their sugar industry and to participate in the upcoming Fenasucro Exhibition, to be held later this year. Both parties agreed to continue discussions to develop bilateral cooperation between the two Governments and the private sugar industry partners in Brazil.

Minister for Sugar Industry attends the 62nd International Sugar Organization Council Meeting

The Minister of Sugar Industry, Hon. Charan J. Singh, is currently attending the 62nd International Sugar Organization (ISO) Council Meeting at Ezulwini in Eswatini, Africa. The theme for this Council meeting is “Resilient Sugar Industries in the midst of Climate Change & Emerging Geopolitics”.

The ISO is the unique intergovernmental body devoted to improving conditions on the world's sugar market through Debate, Analysis, Special Studies, Transparent Statistics, Seminars, Conferences and Workshops. ISO is based in London, where the 88 member states of the ISO represent 86% of world sugar production, 67% of world sugar consumption, 92% of world exports, 40% of world imports. The proactive attitude to include ethanol from sugar crops in our activities already in the mid-90s helped to promote the increasing role of biofuels in the future energy-mix worldwide.

The ISO exists to administer the internationally negotiated 1992 International Sugar Agreement (ISA), the objectives are to enhance international cooperation with optimum results for every aspect of the sugar industry’s outputs, particularly to increase demand for sugar imports and exports.

Some of the key findings at the meeting were that the ISO had maintained a neutral view on market since February. Raw sugar prices had increased by 26% in last quarter; refined sugar was up by 25%. Contract expiries have been at premiums to the deferred contracts. In most cases international freight rates fell to fresh lows in late January and February and have since recovered where fuel costs remained steady. It was also noted that Producers were struggling with high input costs and competition for arable land from other commodities.

Other important matters are on the agenda for the 3-day long meeting.

Ubombo Sugar Limited (USL) in Eswatini

The Hon. Minister Charan Jeath Singh and his delegation met with the Executives of the Ubombo Sugar Limited (USL) in Eswatini - a privately owned company that produces raw and refined sugar and co-generation of electricity, employing 2300 people.

It annually produces approximately 300 000 tonnes of sugar. It is one of three sugar producers in the country whose combined total sugar output of approximately 730 000 tons is marketed and distributed by the Eswatini Sugar Association (ESA).

USL produces sufficient energy for its own needs and was the first independent power producer in Eswatini and also contributes to the national grid using bio-renewable resources on a commercial basis similar to FSC. On average, the company produces 165-gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity annually of which about 60 GWh is supplied to the Eswatini Electricity Company.

The company's modern technology and investments make way for the proposed developments of FSC where expertise can be drawn from USL. The company has offered to assist with its technical knowledge and share relevant information. The yield for cane per hectare is an average of 102 tons as compared to 47 tons for Fiji.

Minister for Sugar Industry meets with Omnicane Limited.

The Minister for Sugar Industry, Hon. Charan Jeath Singh met with the Executives of Omnicane Limited, a company established in 1926 in Mauritius.

The Company is a leader in the modern sugarcane industry born of Mauritius’s centuries-old sugar industry and its role consists of the cultivation of sugarcane and the production of refined sugar, bioethanol, thermal energy, and electricity.

In recent months, the Hon. Minister has directed FSC to seriously consider the value-addition of its product and invest in a modern sugar refinery plant and also the production of Ethanol, along with co-generation of power.

Currently, the world market price for sugar is increasing and it is expected that the production will also increase. Some common issues were discussed such as; the impacts of climate change, shortage of labor, and aging farmers.

Mauritius imports labor to fill the manpower gaps in the country, mostly in farming and construction.

Omnicane also provides consultancy services which may be a source of resources for the new strategies for FSC in value-addition.