Attorney General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has called on stakeholders within the sugar industry to work together.

He said this while addressing  farmers, mill workers and Fiji Sugar Corporation executives who were present at the official opening of the Labasa Mill for another crushing season yesterday,

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said they needed to accord a certain level of respect and understanding amongst each other.

“Everybody has a place and all are very important. If we do not look after each other, if we do not understand how everybody fits into the equation then the economy will suffer. But if we support and understand each other then the economy will do a lot better,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

He has called on mill workers to respect and consider farmers during mill processing as some often wait in line for hours.

“I think it is very critical to understand that you cannot treat farmers as ones who are to be left out there on their own and they simply supply cane,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

“They are pretty much part and parcel (of the industry) and I believe that everybody that is involved with the sugar industry understands that. The people that work in the mill need to understand that without the farmers they do not actually have a job.

“They are your customers, they are your clients so they have to be treated with a particular level of respect and service delivery focusing on encouraging them to continue cane supply to the mill.”

On the same note farmers have been urged to understand mill workers, for without them the mill would be non-functional.

“It is what we call a symbiotic relationship, a relationship that works both ways.  It is a relationship that the Government and the FSC needs to understand that if these two parties are not present then we cannot have a sugar industry.”

He has also alerted farmers that there were people out there that tended to politicise the sugar industry.

“If a bridge has not been repaired well, it is not a political issue it is an infrastructure issue.

“I would like to urge you that now we have a good team in place, the right amount of money that needs to be invested in the sugar industry, lets walk together and be solution driven. We need to address it more with positivity.”

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