FSC seeks to delay sugar shipment

[posted 3 July 2009,1400]

Fiji Sugar Corporation does not have enough sugar to meet its first shipment of 30,000 tonnes by mid-July and is desperately trying to get the shipping company to delay departure by a week.

The ship is due to sail on 15 July with the season’s first shipment of sugar to the UK. FSC will be required to pay a penalty to the shipping company if the boat does not leave on time.

The National Farmers Union is concerned that growers will end up meeting 70% of this additional cost, through no fault of theirs.

“FSC will simply charge the penalty to marketing costs of which 70% will be borne by growers,” NFU general secretary Mahendra Chaudhry said

“With the dismantling of the Fiji Sugar Marketing Ltd by the interim administration, FSC now controls the marketing of sugar.

“There is now a dangerous lack of transparency in FSC’s dealings with the growers in matters which are very crucial to their financial well being. There is also a potential to cheat,” Mr Chaudhry said.

As it is FSC is hiding low production figures from the growers and has not informed the Growers Council that it cannot meet the shipment.

“Growers will have to find ways of addressing these matters or else they will be cheated out of their rightful share of proceeds,” Mr Chaudhry warned.

Fiji Sugar Marketing had been set up to ensure transparency in all matters relating to the marketing of sugar. It was recently dismantled by the interim administration as part of its industry 'reforms'.