Fiji Water is yet to make a statement on whether it will permanently close down its factory in Fiji.

Some of the workers of the company who were told about the factory closure yesterday have contacted Fijivillage and have told us that the company executives have told them that Fiji Water will wait for the next few days on the government’s reaction before making further decisions.

The 400 plus Fiji Water workers will be paid until next week however any further wages and salaries will be based on the company’s final decision.

Fijivillage has sent questions to Fiji Water’s headquarters in Los Angeles on its future plans in relation to the Fiji Water brand based on the statement by Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama that the Water Resource Tax will remain in place.

We expect the answers from Fiji Water later today.

The issue also arises in relation to the Fiji Water brand which is owned by the US company and whether it will continue producing under the brand even if the natural water is not from Fiji.

A company statement announcing the decision yesterday did not say whether the company was shutting down permanently in Ra, where the artesian spring deep underground has been the source of one of the world’s most popular bottled water brands.

The company is owned by California billionaires Lynda and Stewart Resnick and it has stated that the company wants to keep operating in Fiji and is willing to hold discussions with the government about that.

Fiji Water is a well known brand of bottled water, sold in 40 countries including the United States where it is one of the top 10 bottled waters.

The Resnick’s Roll International Corp bought Fiji Water in 2004 for an undisclosed sum from Canadian billionaire David Gilmour, a resort owner who founded the water company in 1996.

Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has stated that if Fiji Water no longer wants to operate in Fiji, it must inform the Director of Lands and Yaqara Pastoral Company Limited from whom Fiji Water has leased the land.

Commodore Bainimarama said the Government, following the cancellation of the leases, will call for international tenders from credible and reputable private sector companies to extract this valuable resource.

The Prime Minister said as usual Fiji Water has adopted tactics that demonstrate that it does not care about Fiji or Fijians.

He said Fiji Water has made statements about supposed instability in Fiji and know it is not true, yet do so because they simply do not want to pay the new Water Resource Tax.

Fiji Water yesterday announced the closure of its factory in Fiji stating the increase in the Water Resource Tax announced in the 2011 National Budget is untenable and as a consequence, Fiji Water is left with no choice but to close its facility in Fiji.

Fiji Water currently pays one third of a cent for a litre of water as Water Resource Tax.

The government announced in the budget that companies extracting more than 3.5 million litres of natural water in a month will have to pay 15 cents per litre as Water Resource Tax.

Fiji Water falls in this category.

Commodore Bainimarama said Fiji Water declares the selling price of a carton of water at $US4 when at the same time other relatively unknown brands from Fiji like Aqua Pacific declare their selling price to the US market at $US10 a carton.

Commodore Bainimarama said Fiji Water sells its water to a US sister company and therefore is engaged in transfer pricing.


Story by: Vijay Narayan