CRUSH RECORD SURPASSES LAST YEAR’S: FSC

For the period ending August 31, 2020, a total of 806,388 tonnes of cane was crushed by the three Fiji Sugar Corporation sugar mills.

The throughput levels were above last year’s record.

The cumulative crush to date compares to an equivalent tonnage of 717,167 tonnes crushed in 2019 – an increase of 12 per cent year on year.

The cumulative tonnage of cane crushed so far this season, has now reached 44 per cent of the anticipated cane crop for 2020 of 1.84 million tonnes.

Mill performance remains acceptable, with operating time efficiency 10 per cent better than last year.

An average weekly mill stoppages was 38 per cent lower, driven by strong cane supply and mill breakdowns that are 23 per cent lower than in 2019.

Sugar production at 71,114 tonnes to date is higher than for the equivalent period in 2019 (69,566 tonnes).

Sugar recoveries continue to improve, with the cumulative tonnes cane to sugar ratio (TCTS) dropping to 11.3, compared to 11.5 and 11.6 for the last two weeks respectively.

Loading of two bulk sugar cargoes – 11,500 tonnes to the United States of America, and 30,000 tonnes to Spain - was completed during the week, and both vessels had sailed for their respective destinations by the

end of the week.

Lautoka Mill

Lautoka Mill crushed a total of 28,164 tonnes of cane for the week.

This was six per cent lower than their target, affected by stoppages of 16 hours for the week.

A scheduled stop was taken on Sunday to carry out mill cleaning and planned maintenance works.

The stop had to be extended when leaking boiler tubes were identified, requiring the mill team to carry out repairs under direction from the factories inspector, to resume operations by Monday midnight.

A total of 2425 tonnes of sugar were produced for the week with a TCTS of 11.6.

This is still below the target figure, and is the lowest for the same period in the past two years.

The per cent burnt cane also increased, now standing at 59 per cent for the week.

Rarawai Mill

Rarawai mill crushed a total of 25,059 tonnes of cane for the week.

Mill throughput was higher than for the past week, but lower than the target figure by nine per cent.

Issues with the bagasse conveying systems affected Rarawai performance during the weekend.

An extended cleaning and maintenance stop was taken during the weekend to address major issues identified affecting throughput.

Even though crushing was adversely affected during the week, TCTS ratio and sugar production improved from the previous week.

Total tonnes sugar produced was 2,447 tonnes with a TCTS ratio of 10.2 units for the week.

POCS in sugar cane measured 10.1 units for the week, which was a slight improvement over last week.

Percentage of burnt cane was 63 per cent, compared to 54 per cent for the past week.

Labasa Mill

Labasa milling throughput was affected in the week by issues surrounding their pre-feed elevator chains and rakes.

It was addressed adequately, but the total stop lost 11 hours of the mill operating time.

The mill crushed a total of 31,000 tonnes cane for the week, which was 10 per cent lower than the weekly target figure.

The mill took a 22hrs scheduled stop over the weekend to carry out cleaning and normal maintenance.

A total of 3415 tonnes of sugar was produced for the week with a TCTS ratio of 9.1 units, which was an improvement from last week.

Percent burnt cane is becoming a concern, increasing to 17 per cent for the past week.

Source: Fiji Sugar Corporation