The Interim Prime Minister said that he decided to take on the Sugar Industry portfolio to ensure viability and sustainable survival of the industry.

Commodore Frank Bainimarama said that he is interested in seeing the effective implementation of the recommendations takes place from the review of the financial and operational viability of FSC recently undertaken. He said this report will be made available to all industry stakeholders after the FSC Board considers and accepts it.

Bainimarama said that he also wants to ensure that agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and herbicides are available to farmers, strengthening of the FSC Ltd Board is done, giving further support to the work of the committee on Better Utilisation of Land in an effort to ensure that land is made available for sustaining the industry and further expansion, expediting the mill upgrading program under the Sugar Technical Mission assistance, reviewing the functions of Sugar Cane Growers Council, Sugar Commission of Fiji and Fiji Sugar Marketing Authority to see that the overhead costs for farmers and the FSC are reduced, and that appropriate provisions in the Master Award are reviewed and modernised to ensure survival of the industry on a sustainable basis.

Bainimarama said that he is looking forward to working closely with all industry stakeholders to see that the above priorities are implemented.