$5M Facility Increases Milling Capacity
FRL has increased the purchase price of paddy paid to you by $50 per tonne for each grade of rice.
With its new mill Fiji Rice Limited will increase threefold its milling capacity.
While opening the $5 million facility yesterday Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said the mill would allow Fiji Rice to take the entire harvest of rice from farmers, unlike before. Mr Bainimarama said the investment in the new mill came with several benefits to farmers, community and the company itself.
“Firstly, there are new employment opportunities for the people of Dreketi, because additional staff will be required to operate the mill,” he said. “Secondly, this new investment will allow the mill to process a much higher level of paddy.
“For instance in 2010, Fiji Rice was not in a position to receive the entire supply of paddy from farmers in the area, forcing them to look for alternative markets to sell their paddy.
“However, this will not be the case anymore because FRL will be able to receive your entire supply of paddy as the milling capacity has increased with the new mill, from five tonnes of paddy per day to 15 tonnes per day.
“The purchase of the new mill is indeed timely because the old mill constantly required repairs, consequently affecting production.
“While the old mill is still in operation, we are happy to note that there is now significant reduction in downtime, which has fallen dramatically to five per cent compared with 65 per cent in 2013.
“The rebranding from Rewa Rice Limited to Fiji Rice Limited in 2017 re-positioned and re-established the company in the market. It changed the outlook of the entity through continuous commitment from the staff and board of Fiji Rice.
“Today, Fiji Rice is supplying all supermarkets in Viti Levu and I am even more pleased that the company has secured the supply of rice to Fiji Sugar Corporation’s cane farmers in Vanua Levu,” Mr Bainimarama said.
“The new mill also boasts improved polishing technology as compared to the old rice mill which was purchased in the 1970s.
“I have been made aware that since April 2018, FRL has increased the purchase price of paddy paid to you by $50 per tonne for each grade of rice.
“This means that Grade one paddy now receives an amount of $800 per tonne, while Grades two and three receive $750 and $700 per tonne respectively.
“I hope that these new prices will encourage farmers to continue to improve planting methods and plant more rice so that you can benefit directly from the higher prices,” he said.
In line with this, he said FRL and the Government have made investments in the mill recently by purchasing five electric dryers to replace kerosene dryers.
“I still urge the company to explore renewable energy to save costs further and also to support the Government’s “Go Green” initiative.
FOREIGN HELP
The PM acknowledged foreign Governments and partners who have over the years provided technical expertise and machineries that have helped in the mechanisation and development of the Rice Industry.
These include the government of India, Republic of Indonesia, People’s Republic of China and the Food and Agricultural Organisation.’