A NUMBER of cane farmers in the North are considering leaving their crops unharvested this season as rising fuel prices, increasing harvesting costs and a lower forecast cane price continue to place pressure on the sugar industry.
Seaqaqa cane farmer Mohammed Aroof Khan said many growers were questioning whether harvesting their cane would be worthwhile after the forecast cane price was announced at $57.40 per tonne.
“The forecast price is concerning because transport and labour costs are now becoming higher than the returns farmers will receive,” he said.
Mr Khan said fuel prices had significantly increased operating costs, making cane farming less financially viable for many families.
“The expenses are increasing rapidly due to fuel prices, and many farmers may stop harvesting cane because it may no longer be financially viable.”
He said rural families were also struggling with the rising cost of living, with some spending between $50 and $60 on fuel simply to travel to town and purchase groceries.
Mr Khan urged the Government to consider measures to assist remote farming communities, including improving access to essential food supplies.
Meanwhile, Labasa cane farmer Firoz Ali said harvesting costs had become too expensive for many growers.
“The fuel cost alone will now cost us more than $70,000 to harvest cane,” he said.
Mr Ali said the gap between rising production costs and declining cane prices was discouraging farmers from harvesting their crop this season.
“The fuel increase is due to the global market, but the cane price has dropped,” he said, adding that many farmers feared the industry’s returns were no longer keeping pace with production costs.”
