We have been reliably informed that a recent independent report commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture on restoring the Fiji Sugar Industry to profitability produced the following recommendations.
- Three new modern sugar mills are built under private ownership contracted to FSC to convert cane at an agreed conversion efficiency.
- FSC becomes a marketing and management company only.
- The existing cane farmers are assisted with Government support by a cane subsidy. This subsidy should be considered a social subsidy and not part of the Profit/Loss of the FSC and be paid separately to the sugar payment.
- An additional four times the current area of land is required for large scale commercial mechanical farming.
- The MOA employ an independent company to develop and plant blocks of 500 ha for transfer to selected successful farmers with finance provided by commercial banks with a government guarantee. All startup finance, accommodation and modern machinery would be financed over 10 years with the government paying the interest on the loan. The farms will revert to the Government for reallocation without compensation if they fail to meet contracted targets over any three year period while under Government support. The Farmer would have the right to take over interest payments at any time and be free of contracted targets. The Government Guarantee would result in the farm reverting to a new selected farmer if loan payments were defaulted on. At the end of the ten year period the farmer would hold unencumbered ownership for the rest of the period of the lease.
- That a contract price be set at the start of the crushing season by FSC and twelve equal payments be made over the period of the year fr the contracted quantity. Farm cashflow fluctuations would be by bank overdraft. The rejuvenated FSC would be financed by the commercial banks with a Government Guarantee.
- The existing debts of FSC would be absorbed as a part of the National Debt.
No suggestions were made as to how the land was to be sourced or how leases were to be obtained.
The Ministry of Finance has rejected the proposal as too onerous on the countries finances at this time.
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