By JYOTI PRATIBHA
Guatemala has raised its hands to assist the Fijian sugar industry.
Guatemala representative Henning Andrés Droege yesterday declared that Guatemala was ready to assist.
Speaking during discussions at the International Sugar Organisation meeting at Nadi, Mr Droege said their assistance could be in terms of providing free seedlings of different varieties.
“Guatemala would be happy to coordinate and work through the ISO (International Sugar Organisation) to assist Fiji. We can provide free seedlings to Fiji of different varieties to strengthen their efforts to pull the industry back up again,” Mr Droege said.
The meeting is underway at the Sofitel Resort and Spa in Nadi.
Mr Droege made his remarks following a presentation by the Fiji Sugar Corporation executive chairman Abdul Khan.
Mr Khan in his presentation highlighted plans in pipeline to make the Fijian sugar industry more commercially viable.
He pointed out that by 2020, the corporation plans to generate 360 giga watt hours of electricity, produce 23 million litres of ethanol and 100,000 tonnes of raw sugar.
He said the challenges they faced were price vitality in market and insufficient funds.
Declining manpower also continues to be a problem as well.
Mr Khan said they have already embarked on processes to deal with their challenges, which includes consolidating their debts and providing further training for their staff and farmers.