What about the $12 million loss, Mr Saran?

[posted 18 Aug 2009,1700]

FSC has failed once again to meet a full sugar shipment to the UK with a shortfall of 8000T this time around.

It was only able to ship 22,000 tonnes of raw sugar instead of the full load of 30,000 tonnes. Its first shipment late July was also short at 27,418 tonnes – less 2582 tonnes.

Enough cane was supplied to the mills to produce 60,000 tonnes sugar to meet the two scheduled shipments of 30,000 tonnes each. Instead, FSC has thus far produced only 49,418 tonnes – ie 10,582 tonnes short which was lost through poor extraction and failure to convert juice to sugar resulting from chronic milling problems.

Cumulative loss to the industry from the two short shipments so far is estimated at $12 million based on the total shortfall of 10,582 tonnes.

Loss to farmers is $8.4 million (70%) which means they have already lost $3.50 per tonne through FSC’s gross negligence and incompetence.

But FSC chief executive Deo Saran tries to hide this enormous loss and to mislead the nation with his talk of the $25 million revenue the second shipment will bring in.

The alarming truth is that our sugar shipments are getting steadily worse as the season progresses.

So, given FSC’s very dismal record so far this season, it is doubtful whether the Corporation will realise its total production target of 240,000 tonnes sugar as claimed by the CEO.

FSC’s main problem is its two larger mills which are grossly under-performing. Nine weeks into the season, Lautoka is still crushing only at about 62% capacity while the situation at the Rarawai Mill continues to deteriorate, with the mill doing barely one/third of its capacity. In the first three weeks of operation, the mill produced no sugar at all.

Mr Saran should tell the Ba farmers how many millions they have lost as a result of Rarawai Mill’s failure to convert cane juice into sugar. Boilers are not heating sufficiently to crystallise the juice which is being dumped wholesale into the Ba River.