Over 180,000 tonnes of sugar cane crushed this year - FSC

All three sugar mills in Fiji have commenced the 2018 crushing season with over 180,000 tonnes of sugar cane crushed by 23rd July.

The Fiji Sugar Corporation in a statement revealed that this is 9% above what was crushed for the same period in 2017.

It adds that the Labasa Mill has crushed 123,090 tonnes of cane making 12,709 tonnes of Sugar.

FSC also highlighted that the Lautoka Mill has crushed 53,436 tonnes of sugar cane to date making 4,041 tonnes of sugar, a 16% increase for the same period last year.

It says that a key factor driving the increase in cane crushed is the decision made by FSC to allow for the Rakiraki and Rarawai Mill area trucks to transport cane to the Lautoka Mill.

FSC Chief Executive Officer Graham Clark says it is great to see Labasa now consistently crushing over 5,000 tonnes per day which is on budget and operational efficiency has improved by 13% as well.

Clark says if this bold and innovative decision to transport cane from Rakiraki to Lautoka was not made, farmers in these two mill areas would not have the opportunity to harvest 14,000 tonnes of cane in the pre-season.      

While the crushing season is commencing, FSC has also reminded growers on the need to plant more cane especially in the fallow lands and also consider ploughing out old ratoons.