With the 2020 Sugar Crushing Season now virtually completed, Fiji Sugar Corporation is forecasting an increase in projected revenue for the 2020/21 year of $7 million, despite the challenges this season.

Revenue is forecast at $152 million, compared to $145 million last year.

The five per cent increase will be delivered despite a lower volume of cane harvested and lower quality of cane delivered to the mills in 2020, resulting in lower sugar production than in 2019.

This likely result will also have been achieved despite the damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on world commodity and freight markets, reflecting superior pricing achieved by the FSC marketing team.

Vishnu Mohan, board chairperson of Fiji Sugar Corporation commented on the projected results after an FSC Board meeting said: “The Team at FSC are encouraged by the financial results, particularly when 2020 has been an incredibly challenging year all round. We will be pleased to be able to contribute over $150 million to the Fijian economy this year” he said.

Crop supply increases

The total cane crop for 2020 will be approximately 1.73 million tonnes, a four per cent decrease in the cane crop compared to 2019.

The reduction was caused by worse than expected damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Harold, which struck in the early part of the growing period, as well as the impacts of very dry weather thereafter in the Lautoka and Ba districts. Cane yields in these areas which had recovered well after Tropical Cyclone Winston from less than 40 tonnes per hectare to nearly 50 tonnes per hectare in 2019, fell to 45 tonnes per hectare in 2020. In Labasa growing conditions were more favourable for the season and cane yields maintained 2019 results of 48 tonnes per hectare.

Cane quality in 2020 was affected by an increase in the percentage of burnt cane delivered for milling from 44.8 per cent last year to 50.3 per cent for 2020. High extraneous matter associated with mechanical harvesting, combined with burnt cane resulted in the lowest cane purity for the last three years.

As a result final sugar production for 2020 will be approximately 152,000 tonnes, nine per cent lower than 2019.

Feedback:  jyotip@fijisun.com.fj