Fiji Airways spends close to $500 million buying ethanol biofuel from Singapore yearly, and the Ministry of Sugar says plans are in place to diversify its production, and produce ethanol.
This has been revealed by the Minister for Sugar, Charan Jeath Singh.
In a media conference, Singh said the Ministry has declared its interest in producing aviation fuel to supplement the demand by Fiji Airways and reduce Fiji’s importation bill.
He said the Government will soon be making an announcement, which in turns will increase the market price for local sugar.
“We are already looking at the suppliers of machines who can come in and assist. We are already pursuing bilateral and multilateral talks with countries that can also assist Fiji technically, more importantly, backing the industry financially.”
The Minister has highlighted that the sugar industry provides directly and indirectly to up to 200,000 Fijians, who rely on the industry.
He said that the sugar industry has attracted bad attention in the last decade; however, the Coalition Government intends to bring it back from its ashes and restore it back to its former glory.
“The Government will be making announcements this week that will benefit farmers and industry players,” Singh added.
FijiLive has also reached out to Fiji Airways for comments.
