Men work on the damaged tramlines at Savusavu on the coast between Nadi and Sigatoka. Picture: FT FILE/Anokh Kumar

In 1990, a tidal wave caused by Cyclone Sina damaged sugar cane which the Fiji Sugar Corporation in Sigatoka estimated caused a loss of around $750,000.

Although there was no official estimation for damage done to cane crop, it was said that about 30,000 tonnes in the Lautoka mill area alone were damaged. Severe wave action brought on by the cyclone badly eroded the tramline embankments in the Nadi-Sigatoka region, causing major damage and cutting off railway transport of cane from Sigatoka.

The Fiji Times reported that on December 3 that year, hotels along the Coral Coast were also damaged as well. Although there were several cases of minor damage to tramlines along the way, the most seriously affected were the two points at Namata and Waireba which had about 4km of tramline, FSC said.

“As the affected proportions are part of the trunk line servicing the Sigatoka district, rail support of cane from areas beyond has ceased until repairs are completed,” the then FSC acting executive Jai Prakash Narayan said.

Since most of Sigatoka’s cane was transported by railway, damage to the railway meant that cane would not be able to reach the Lautoka mill unless it was transported by road.

At a stance, about 115,000 tonnes of cane from the Sigatoka area was affected. FSC had begun work on temporary repairs and had hoped to have the lines usable again sometime the following week while plans were underway for repairs later on.

In reply to questions sent from The Fiji Times, the FSC said growers were permitted to transport cane by road until repairs were completed.

However, the National Farmers Union (NFU) said the corporation was supposed to pay for all the cane transported by road.

It had also called for on-program burning of cane to be permitted immediately in order to help farmers overcome damage caused by the cyclone.

The crop had been severely dislodged in many areas by the cyclone and NFU said this would make harvesting very difficult unless growers were allowed to burn their cane. Although the Sugar Industry Tribunal had allowed on-program burning that season, it had restricted all mill areas except Labasa.

In a statement, the NFU called for an immediate review of the dates for the end of the crushing season at the Viti Levu mills.

The Tribunal office said it had not received any official submissions seeking a review but would consider the matter if raised, Industrial Commissioner Daryl Tarte said. The FSC said any escalation of burning would further delay completion of the crushing season.

“A week before the cyclone, about 57 per cent of cane supplied to the mills was burnt.” This was having a serious effect on processing operations.

“The NFU also expressed alarm at the vast tonnage of cane likely to be left standing in the fields at the end of the season because of delays to the crushing caused by breakdowns at the Lautoka and Rarawai mills.”

It was then a concern that the progress may be further disrupted because of disruptions caused by the cyclone.

All three Viti Levu mills had to close down on Monday that week because of poor cane supply caused by heavy rain. Operations did not return to normal until four days later.

According to the NFU estimations, 673,277 tonnes of cane were still standing at the Lautoka mill area on November 19 and at the mill’s capacity of 45,000 tonnes a week, it would take at least 15 weeks to complete the crushing.

Copyright © 2022 Fiji Times Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2022 Fiji Times Limited. All Rights Reserved.