Fiji's sugar industry decimated by storms

Fiji's sugar cane industry, the country's second biggest earner, has been destroyed by torrential rain that has wiped out crops and battered the livelihood of 22,000 cane farmers.

Thousands of acres of cane have been destroyed by rising floodwaters that have washed away soil and fertiliser, leaving silt and rancid salt water in its wake.

``The result is this mess,'' said Bala Dass, from Fiji's Cane Growers Association, pointing to recently flooded crop, bent over and turning brown at the roots.

``It's going to take years to recover from this.

``I've seen many cyclones, many floods, but in the history of this country, this is the worst I've ever seen and the worst disaster for the industry.''

Sugar is second only to tourism as Fiji's biggest industry, bringing in more than $250 million from the three million tonne crushes annually, which is mostly sold to markets in the European Union.

Fiji has been able to get a good price for its crop under a preferential pricing system which favours small countries over bigger producers like Australia, Brazil and Thailand.

But the system will change to a single desk flat price this year after a decision by the World Trade Organisation.

Mr Dass says this lower price per tonne combined with the impact of the week-long flooding will bring the industry to its knees in the long-term.

``All the sugar cane growing areas in the west, north and centre, everywhere, were affected, and the crop is really going down, so the total loss to the industry is huge,'' he said.

He said farmers had been contacting him in tears, without money to feed their families, or rebuild their homes, many located in low-lying areas and swamped by water.

One farmer, Eminoni Natadra, told AAP his four-acre plot was dead after the storms. Asked what he would do next, he said, ``I have no idea''.

The association is awaiting a government response to requests for an emergency advance payment to help tide farmers over, as well as an aid package to cover the costs of more seeds and fertiliser.

But Mr Dass said the impact would be felt beyond Fiji's 22,000 cane farming families, with 25 per cent of the nation reliant on the industry.

``It's the farmers' total livelihood, their life, but it's also the backbone of the country, so we need to hope for better weather and a way out of this mess,'' he said.