Parliament defeats opposition's motion for dairy industry reform

The opposition's motion for parliament to agree that an extensive rehabilitation package be implemented for the vibrancy and vitality of the dairy Industry and dairy farmers, has been defeated in Parliament.

While speaking on the motion, NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad says the motion is a direct result of their consultation with dairy farmers and stakeholders concerned about the Dairy Industry.

Prasad says that the plight of the dairy industry and the dairy farmers is an example of another government reform or policy that is failing to meet its objective.

He adds that the reality of the dairy industry is excruciatingly painful as an average of 80 million litres of milk is consumed each year, and Fiji's dairy industry is producing less than 10 million litres annually, which means that 70 million litres of milk either liquid or powder is imported into Fiji.

While opposing the motion, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed‑Khaiyum says that Prasad has not spoken about the fact that Rewa Dairy was not OHC compliant in the past and had inefficiencies as they had not met ISO standards. 

Sayed‑Khaiyum says that government has restructured Rewa Dairy.

He adds that the total number of farmers in 2016 stood at 340 in comparison to 2012 with 250 farmers.

There are 130 new dairy farmers in Ba and Lautoka where Fiji Dairy Limited has set up their new Milk Chilling plants and has created $720,000 worth of income for Ba and the Lautoka areas.

Sayed‑Khaiyum also told parliament that Prasad should check those facts and figures before moving the motion.

The Attorney General also revealed in Parliament that milk production in 2012 was 9.5 million litres, 2014 was 10.3 million litres and in 2016 production decreased to 8 million litres, because of the TB outbreak and Tropical Cyclone Winston, prior to that milk production was increasing.

Sayed‑Khaiyum says Prasad was just having a go at Southern Cross Foods but was not able to make the connection between what he is saying and what is happening on the ground.

16 members of Parliament voted for the motion, 27 Parliamentarians voted against the motion while 7 did not vote.