Fiji's opposition National Federation Party has accused the Bainimarama government of fraud.
Biman Prasad Photo: RNZI/Alex Perrottet
It said the government's new five-year and 20-year National Development Plans, unveiled during the COP23 conference earlier this month, were laden with misleading claims about sugarcane and sugar production.
NFP leader, Biman Prasad, who is also an economist, said the current government was clueless about how to save the sugar industry.
He said the false figures produced by the government were shameful and he said Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who also heads the sugar ministry, needed to take responsibility.
"The sugar industry has suffered very, very badly under this government over the last nine to ten years and yet the government is still trying to project that somehow it is going to rescue the industry and is presenting statistics which are totally misleading and clearly aimed at fooling, not only the people the people of Fiji but delegations of participating nations at the COP23 in Germany."
Professor Prasad said the Fiji government said in the Plan that in 2016 Fiji produced 3.6 million tonnes of cane and 164,000 tonnes of sugar, while the correct statistic recorded by the industry is 1.38 million tonnes of cane and 139,503 tonnes of sugar and TCTS (tonnes of cane required to manufacture one tonne of sugar) of 9.9.
He said the 2017 cane production was given as 1.8 million tonnes and sugar production of 313,000 tonnes at an unbelievable TCTS of 5.75.
Professor Prasad said no sugar producing country in the world had ever achieved or will record such a TCTS.
A sugar cane field in Fiji. Photo: RNZI/ Sally Round
He said this year's actual production would be around 1.64 million tonnes of cane and around 166,000 tonnes of sugar at a TCTS of about 9.8.
Profeesor Prasad said for 2018 sugar production is forecast to reach 2 million tonnes with 361,000 tonnes of sugar produced at a TCTS of 5.54.
In 2019 cane production is predicted to be 2.2 million tonnes and sugar production is stated to be 402,000 tonnes at a TCTS
of 5.47.
For 2020 and 2021, cane production is listed to be 3 million tonnes and sugar production is forecasted as 438,000 at a TCTS of 6.84.
The NFP Leader said the Fiji sugar industry's best TCTS ratio was twice 7.4 in 1977 and 1987, and 7.9 in1975 and 1994 when the four mills produced 517,000 tonnes of sugar.
Attempts by RNZ International to reach Mr Bainimarama to have him respond to these revelations have not been successful.
