from w
Noticed a story about Labasa Mill which shows the difficulties of the sugar industry in Fiji.
Labasa Mill closes with dismal performance
Crushing at the Labasa Mill ends tonight with this season’s crush of around 570,000 tonnes of cane.
FSC estimates a standover crop of 40,000 tonnes which brings the crop total to 610,000 tonnes compared to pre-crush estimates of 654,000 tonnes, a shortfall of 44,000 tonnes.
The mill made about 44,000 tonnes of sugar returning a high TCTS of 13:1 (13 tonnes of cane to make a tonne of sugar) due to frequent breakdowns. Milling inefficiencies resulted in an estimated loss of 13,000 tonnes of sugar calculated at a TCTS ratio of 10:1.
In monetary terms, this loss equates to $13 million of which the growers will bear $9 million or $15.78 per tonne of cane.
The loss is huge. Somewhat similar results are expected from the other three mills which have also been plagued by milling problems. Bad news for the industry and its future sustainability.
S. Lal
Showing posts with label Fiji sugar industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiji sugar industry. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Fiji and Sugar
from wAlmost every day there is news in the Fiji media of yet another mill breakdown or the difficulties for cane farmers, some having to feed cane-cutters while they wait for news to cut more cane. It's not a money-making business as costs are very high when compared with the income. There was even a story that sugar was short in the shops in Labasa. Now that surely is ironic. We are familiar with sugar cane farming as several members of our family have cane farms and also we have lived in Labasa, Lautoka and Rakiraki - all sugar mill towns. These days though there is an urgent need for people on the land to diversify.
Here's what was written on the Fiji Labour Party website recently.The grim state of the sugar mills
[posted 6 Sep 2010,1530]
Crushing last week virtually halted at all four sugar mills while loaded cane trucks piled up at the mill gates - and the quality of cane in the fields deteriorates every day under prolonged drought conditions.
In Labasa, 30,000 tonnes of harvested cane is lying in the fields. The mill broke down Monday week (August 30) but FSC continued to issue harvest quotas throughout the week until Friday. FSC has not said when the mill will resume crushing again. Nor is it releasing any information to growers regarding the stoppage.
Penang: the mill was out all last week. It began steaming this morning with the expectation that the machines will start rolling later today. Crushing stopped eight days ago on 29 August as a result of boiler problems which have persisted since the start of crush.
Lorries that queued up outside the mill, were told Friday that crushing will resume on Monday, September 6. Lorries were not initially allowed to offload in the stock pile bay even though the facility is intended for such contingencies.
Rarawai: mill has been down for most of the week – it stopped on 31 August with crushing expected to resume today at 3pm.
Lautoka: the mill has been crushing intermittently on a stop/start basis
The situation is simply untenable for cane growers who are losing heavily financially as a result of the stoppages. Their plight is further aggravated by the continuing drought as the standing cane in the fields dry up and lose weight.
The crop size for the 2010 season has already been revised to 1.8 million tonnes due to the prolonged drought. With the dismal performance of the four mills, the average TCTS ratio is more likely to be 14:1 by season’s end. At this rate, FSC sources say, they would be lucky to make 125,000 tonnes of sugar for 2010 – the lowest ever in the industry’s history and almost 40,000 tonnes below the much reduced 2009 production.
Based on these figures and the depreciating Euro, farmers may receive less than the already low forecast price of $45 per tonne of cane. This will hardly meet their costs of production, harvesting and transportation and may force many of them to exit the industry to concentrate on other better paying agricultural pursuits.
At this critical juncture, it is patently clear that the current administration has no idea how to address the fast deteriorating position of the industry. In two years, it has brought the industry to the verge of collapse. Under the guise of de-politicising the industry, it has played its own brand of politics and tinkered with key industry institutions which held FSC to accountability.
The situation is now extremely grave not only for the farmers and the landowners, but for the entire nation which is still dependent on the sugar dollar for its economic health. It is also sad news for the 20% of the population – 200,000 people - who still depend, directly or indirectly, on the sugar industry for their livelihood.
What is the solution?
The FSC chairman who lapped up the good life living in the lap of luxury in the past two years has departed. Growers’ organisations have called for the resignation of the entire FSC board which should take responsibility for the current state of the mills.
We now call on the Sugar Minister to step down as he has failed miserably to provide any leadership or guidance at this critical juncture of the industry’s history. But that alone will not resolve the issue. There is no other way but for Fiji to re-establish good relations with the international community in order to access the funds needed to revitalise the sugar industry. This means a return to democracy.
Some of the EU assistance of around $400 million for the industry has been lost but we can still save the day and access whatever is remaining from the 2010-2013 allocations. But that would require engaging with them and the international community generally to work out an acceptable road map back to constitutional rule.
Let us not delude ourselves with talks of reforms etc. The only way Fiji can save its economy is by restoring democratic and constitutional rule.
If the sugar industry collapses, the consequences for the nation will be dire indeed! Trumped up figures on the economy will not be able to save the day.
------
and from FBC website this evening:
Fiji mill upgrade a failure: Commissioner
Monday, September 13, 2010
Taken from / By: Google
Mill upgrade works carried out at the Lautoka, Labasa and Rarawai sugar mills by vendors from India has been a failure says the Commissioner Western Commander Joeli Cawaki.
Cawaki is the first government official to make the statement.
Cawaki told FBC News in Lautoka that the upgrade work was to have increased production and improve milling efficiencies but this has not happened.
"The mill upgrade - for me - is a failure. It's supposed to be a success but it's a failure. We are not getting the TCTS that is supposed to improve it but on the other hand the performance is poor."
Cawaki who is also chairman of the Committee for the Better Utilisation of Land or CBUL and who also chairs the sugar industry stakeholders meeting says there has been too much crushing disruptions at the mill.
"For me as the chairman of the CBUL committee of the western division we have done everything we could do to acquire land, to go down to the farmers and for the farmers to produce what is needed, but unfortunately the sad story about the sugar industry is the mill that is not performing and this year the forecast price of $45 dollars is pegged at 10. 5 TCTS but the TCTS is over 13 at the moment. I don’t think the farmers will get their money out of the forecast price as it happened last year."
Cawaki says the NLTB renewed 54 land leases in the Nadi and Lautoka area for new farmers to come into the sugar industry this year.
Unfortunately due to the poor mill performance - he says it is not encouraging for these farmers to go into the sugar industry.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Compare sugar in Mauritius
from w
With Krishnamurthi's proposal a hot talking point in Fiji I would like to make some comparision with another small island nation with a major crop - sugar. I had been watching a very funny travel program - Pilot Guides where a young guy travels to unusual places and I noticed the sugarcane fields and predominance of people of Indian background. Another indenture story there I expect. Mauritius is a similar country to Fiji - about the same size, same major industry and they also are having difficulties. Here's what they are doing about it. (from 2006)
MAURITIUS-ECONOMY: Helping the Sugar Industry Regain its SweetnessBy Nasseem Ackbarally
PORT LOUIS, Nov 9 (IPS) - The Mauritian government has embarked on a campaign to transform its sugar industry as international sugar prices plunge, leading to a loss in the country's foreign exchange earnings.
Sugar prices are projected to drop by 36 percent in the next three years. In response, Agricultural Industry Minister Arvin Boolell has been trying to convince large and small farmers, factory owners and institutions in the sugar industry that they have no choice but to reform their practices.
Boolell is pushing for a reduction in production costs while encouraging economies of scale. He hopes to achieve the latter by clustering together small farms to improve productivity.
At the same time, the government is promoting the production of electricity from bagasse, a residue from cane, and the production of ethanol which is combined with petrol for use in vehicles.
"There is need for a national crusade to save our industry," says Boolell. "We have been losing about four billion rupees (about 125 million dollars) annually in foreign exchange because of price cuts."
On average, the industry has previously contributed around 306 million dollars in foreign currency annually.
Today, Mauritius exports about 505,000 tons of raw sugar to the European Union under a preferential trade arrangement, about 30,000 tons to the United States and some 54,000 tons of other kinds of sugar products to buyers in European countries.
The government has made it clear to producers that, internationally, the sugar market is no longer a seller's market but a buyer's market. This means that buyers dictate the prices.
If the industry fails to perform and to become competitive, adds Boolell, Mauritius's competitors will take over. The sugar industry, which has been the backbone of the Mauritian economy for decades, will collapse -- although exports will continue to contribute foreign exchange for several years into the future.
The government is also concerned about the 60,000 people who are still earning a living directly or indirectly from the industry.
Therefore, it plans to maintain the sugar industry while promoting alternative products related to cane production. In previous years, only sugar was produced from cane and the electricity generated from bagasse was just enough to run the sugar mills.
Since 2002, the industry has been producing electricity for the country's national network. Currently, it provides about 40 percent of the total electricity consumption on the island, using bagasse combined with charcoal imported from Mozambique.
With next year's opening of a second electricity station, presently under construction in the south of the island, between 60 and 70 percent of electricity will be generated from bagasse and charcoal.
The molasses created from the sugar during the refining process is being used to produce ethanol. A distillery called Alcodis has boosted its annual ethanol production from a few million litres to 30 million litres for the export market.
Ethanol is also being blended with petrol for running cars on the island. Another distillery will be commissioned soon.
The other initiative is to centralise and modernise sugar factories to reduce their numbers from 11 to a maximum of five in the next few years. To make this possible, a voluntary retirement scheme was launched for workers older than 50. So far, about 8,000 workers have taken up the offer.
A related idea is to cluster together the 28,000 small farmers who produce about 30 percent of sugar to make them more productive. "The future of the industry depends on these small farmers as the big sugar estates have already reached their maximum in terms of productivity," says Guirdharry Jugessur, a small farmer who is also president of the Mauritius Cooperative Agricultural Federation.
Small farmers are utilising 21,000 of the 72,000 hectares of land under cane cultivation. Their products range from sugar to electricity to ethanol.
Already launched, the clustering project aims to regroup plots of land of up to 10 hectares into larger plots of 20 hectares or more. The idea is to enhance economies of scale in cane and sugar production. The targeted land area is 12,000 hectares.
This scheme involves the mechanisation of all practices, including cane harvesting, irrigation and land preparation. The fields will be replanted with cane varieties with higher yields. All the inputs, including fertilizer, herbicide and cement, will be provided free of charge.
The expected increase in cane and sugar yields is around 20 percent, whereas the cost of production will decrease by 20 percent.
Small farmers will have to commit themselves to keeping their land under cane for one crop cycle of seven years. The ownership of the individual plots in the regrouped area will be maintained during the first seven-year crop cycle.
Sugar has been associated with Mauritius for 367 years and has shaped the history and culture of the island. Covering more than 40 percent of the surface area of the island, this industry has made the island state what it is today.
For many years, the island has benefited from a high price for sugar under the preferential trade arrangements with Europe. The price for sugar was three times higher than the price on the world market. The revenue has been used to diversify the Mauritian economy into tourism, textiles and financial services.
But, Boolell insists that Mauritians "should stop looking back. We have to move forward and change our mindset. We need everybody in this industry to not only save the sector but to transform sugar into green gold." (END/2006)
With Krishnamurthi's proposal a hot talking point in Fiji I would like to make some comparision with another small island nation with a major crop - sugar. I had been watching a very funny travel program - Pilot Guides where a young guy travels to unusual places and I noticed the sugarcane fields and predominance of people of Indian background. Another indenture story there I expect. Mauritius is a similar country to Fiji - about the same size, same major industry and they also are having difficulties. Here's what they are doing about it. (from 2006)
MAURITIUS-ECONOMY: Helping the Sugar Industry Regain its SweetnessBy Nasseem Ackbarally
PORT LOUIS, Nov 9 (IPS) - The Mauritian government has embarked on a campaign to transform its sugar industry as international sugar prices plunge, leading to a loss in the country's foreign exchange earnings.
Sugar prices are projected to drop by 36 percent in the next three years. In response, Agricultural Industry Minister Arvin Boolell has been trying to convince large and small farmers, factory owners and institutions in the sugar industry that they have no choice but to reform their practices.
Boolell is pushing for a reduction in production costs while encouraging economies of scale. He hopes to achieve the latter by clustering together small farms to improve productivity.
At the same time, the government is promoting the production of electricity from bagasse, a residue from cane, and the production of ethanol which is combined with petrol for use in vehicles.
"There is need for a national crusade to save our industry," says Boolell. "We have been losing about four billion rupees (about 125 million dollars) annually in foreign exchange because of price cuts."
On average, the industry has previously contributed around 306 million dollars in foreign currency annually.
Today, Mauritius exports about 505,000 tons of raw sugar to the European Union under a preferential trade arrangement, about 30,000 tons to the United States and some 54,000 tons of other kinds of sugar products to buyers in European countries.
The government has made it clear to producers that, internationally, the sugar market is no longer a seller's market but a buyer's market. This means that buyers dictate the prices.
If the industry fails to perform and to become competitive, adds Boolell, Mauritius's competitors will take over. The sugar industry, which has been the backbone of the Mauritian economy for decades, will collapse -- although exports will continue to contribute foreign exchange for several years into the future.
The government is also concerned about the 60,000 people who are still earning a living directly or indirectly from the industry.
Therefore, it plans to maintain the sugar industry while promoting alternative products related to cane production. In previous years, only sugar was produced from cane and the electricity generated from bagasse was just enough to run the sugar mills.
Since 2002, the industry has been producing electricity for the country's national network. Currently, it provides about 40 percent of the total electricity consumption on the island, using bagasse combined with charcoal imported from Mozambique.
With next year's opening of a second electricity station, presently under construction in the south of the island, between 60 and 70 percent of electricity will be generated from bagasse and charcoal.
The molasses created from the sugar during the refining process is being used to produce ethanol. A distillery called Alcodis has boosted its annual ethanol production from a few million litres to 30 million litres for the export market.
Ethanol is also being blended with petrol for running cars on the island. Another distillery will be commissioned soon.
The other initiative is to centralise and modernise sugar factories to reduce their numbers from 11 to a maximum of five in the next few years. To make this possible, a voluntary retirement scheme was launched for workers older than 50. So far, about 8,000 workers have taken up the offer.
A related idea is to cluster together the 28,000 small farmers who produce about 30 percent of sugar to make them more productive. "The future of the industry depends on these small farmers as the big sugar estates have already reached their maximum in terms of productivity," says Guirdharry Jugessur, a small farmer who is also president of the Mauritius Cooperative Agricultural Federation.
Small farmers are utilising 21,000 of the 72,000 hectares of land under cane cultivation. Their products range from sugar to electricity to ethanol.
Already launched, the clustering project aims to regroup plots of land of up to 10 hectares into larger plots of 20 hectares or more. The idea is to enhance economies of scale in cane and sugar production. The targeted land area is 12,000 hectares.
This scheme involves the mechanisation of all practices, including cane harvesting, irrigation and land preparation. The fields will be replanted with cane varieties with higher yields. All the inputs, including fertilizer, herbicide and cement, will be provided free of charge.
The expected increase in cane and sugar yields is around 20 percent, whereas the cost of production will decrease by 20 percent.
Small farmers will have to commit themselves to keeping their land under cane for one crop cycle of seven years. The ownership of the individual plots in the regrouped area will be maintained during the first seven-year crop cycle.
Sugar has been associated with Mauritius for 367 years and has shaped the history and culture of the island. Covering more than 40 percent of the surface area of the island, this industry has made the island state what it is today.
For many years, the island has benefited from a high price for sugar under the preferential trade arrangements with Europe. The price for sugar was three times higher than the price on the world market. The revenue has been used to diversify the Mauritian economy into tourism, textiles and financial services.
But, Boolell insists that Mauritians "should stop looking back. We have to move forward and change our mindset. We need everybody in this industry to not only save the sector but to transform sugar into green gold." (END/2006)
Krishnamurti report
from w
It's the talk of the town but who has read the whole report? Anyway those who have more information are certainly saying what they think. It was commissioned I guess to try and get the sugar industry in Fiji out of the doldrums but the emphasis on changing the present way of leasing tribal lane. The idea of de-reserving chunks of Fijian owned land has certainly caused a kerfuffle. At the same time, there needs to be a strong commitment to wisely using some of the vacant land as the soil is so rich and Fiji could be self-sufficient in food if thousands of better, larger fruit and vegetable gardens were planted.
I'm not so much interested in sugar production these days as I do think 10 acre farms have had their day... and...I don't like the idea of huge mechanised plantations in Fiji either!
Anyway, here is one take on the report as in today's Fiji TV news:
One National News
Land Report critised by Academic 17 Feb 2008 02:39:42
A critical analysis of the Krishna Murti report which was commissioned by the Finance Ministry, has described it as lacking depth and understanding of the current situation here.
The University of the South Pacific's head of economics, Professor Biman Prasad says, the report fails to draw on numerous other studies done in the area, that have also offered viable alternatives to the land issue.Its a report that has stirred strong reactions. Now an anlysis of this report by the USP's head of economics concludes the authors of this report lack understanding and depth.
Professor Biman Prasad says the 12 page project proposal fails to highlight the various other factors that have led to the decline of the industry.He says it is misleading to say that land tenure alone has led to the decline of the sugar industry and using land de-reservation as a possible solution. Citing examples which Professor Prasad says illustrates the opposite, between 1997 and 2003, some 5,506 leases were renewed.
This critical analysis goes on to say that the Krishna Murti report is not about the availability of land but more to do with the inefficiencies of our farming techniques right through to milling processes.
In 2006 Professor Biman Prasad and fellow academic and now FIT director Dr Ganesh Chand had proposed the concept of a Master Lease.
Professor Prasad has even proposed a new institutional mechanism to steer the reform of the industry and the doing away of bodies like the Sugar Commission as adding uneccesary expense to the industry.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Chasing the money tree in Brussels
So far (20th April) there has been no talk of money, only of dozens of conditions expected to be pursued by the Interim Government of Fiji, so time will tell what happens next. Fiji Times lists those conditions.
The article starts of as:
Fiji's roadmapFriday, April 20, 2007
THE European Union insists that the general election in Fiji be held before March 2009, it has been revealed. And it expects the interim administration to:
by June 30, 2007, adopt a schedule setting out dates for the completion of the steps to be taken in preparation for the new parliamentary election;
determine boundaries and electoral reform in accordance with the Constitution;
take measures to ensure the functioning of the Elections Office, including the appointment of the Supervisor of Elections by September 30, 2007, in accordance with the Constitution;
appoint the Vice-President in accordance with the Constitution.
A statement by the EU in Brussels dated April 18, 2007, and titled "Conclusions of the European Union" lists commitments it said Fiji had agreed to undertake.
It includes, among other things, the upholding of the 1997 Constitution and the preserving of the "substantial independence and functioning of the Great Council of Chiefs".
etc. etc.
The article starts of as:
Fiji's roadmapFriday, April 20, 2007
THE European Union insists that the general election in Fiji be held before March 2009, it has been revealed. And it expects the interim administration to:
by June 30, 2007, adopt a schedule setting out dates for the completion of the steps to be taken in preparation for the new parliamentary election;
determine boundaries and electoral reform in accordance with the Constitution;
take measures to ensure the functioning of the Elections Office, including the appointment of the Supervisor of Elections by September 30, 2007, in accordance with the Constitution;
appoint the Vice-President in accordance with the Constitution.
A statement by the EU in Brussels dated April 18, 2007, and titled "Conclusions of the European Union" lists commitments it said Fiji had agreed to undertake.
It includes, among other things, the upholding of the 1997 Constitution and the preserving of the "substantial independence and functioning of the Great Council of Chiefs".
etc. etc.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Fiji and the future of sugar?
from w
There seems to be too many problems in the sugar industry that even Mahend cannot solve!
Will The Europeans give a grant or loan to help?
Will the Indian specialists help fix the mills?
Are the farmers sufficiently rewarded for their hard work as it seems to me to be little money for their effort.
If the sugar industry cannot survive, what crops can take its place? The soil is so rich in Fiji that so many things can grow and both Viti Levu and Vanua Levu could become the foodbasket for some of the needs of the world. Intensive vegetable and fruit farms, timber, kura, even sandalwood are possibilities. In my opinion Fiji does not need to import so much food when the land resources are so rich. Instead of importing flour, there must be substitute crops to make your roti and bread.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
