Raw Fiji News

By corruptionfighter99

With the sugar industry facing collapse, it looks like sugar politics are about to change.

In the past, if Mahendra Chaudhry made a claim about the sugar industry, his loyal followers always believed him, regardless of what his opponents may say. Whether it’s the National Federation Party or the SDL, Chaudhry has been able to dismiss any statement they make.

But this time it’s going to be different. The EU price for sugar has already dropped but the biggest drop in price kicks in later this year, 2009/2010. Farmers payments are going to shrink, even after the devaluation boosts the number of shrunken Fiji dollars they receive.

The EU Reference Price for white sugar falls from 541 Euros in 2008/2009 to 404.4 Euros in 2009/2010. If we count the 08/09 price in pre devaluation dollars it was about $1190. The 09/10 price, even in post devaluation dollars is only $1068. But the cost of fuel and fertilizer are rising fast
because of the devaluation.

The EU promised aid because they knew that many farmers would go broke with the new price for sugar. The aid is supposed to help farmers adapt by helping them to move into new industries and assisting larger more efficient farmers to takeover unviable farms.

Without the aid, many farmers will go broke. They will walk away from their farms with nothing to show for generations of hard work.

No doubt Mahendra Chaudhry will blame Qarase for all the problems. But this time around, the Chaudhry magic has gone.