Fiji's sugar cane production is reported to have declined by more than a million tonnes a year with proportionate decreases in income from the country's dominant crop.
The chief executive of the Sugar Cane Growers Council, Jaganath Sami, has attributed this to the expiry of more than 6,000 farm leases most of which have not been renewed.
Mr Samia says displaced farmers have nowhere to go while indigenous Fijian landowners are losing out on millions in rental income.
He says cane production has declined by more than 36% since 1999 when it peaked at 4-point-3 million tones.
"Of course, that has not affected our sugar supply to the premium markets like the EU and the US. Fortunately, the world market price is low so the drop in production has not seriously affected the farmers and the industry but the nation has lost out in foreign currency and sugar proceeds."
The chief executive of the Sugar Cane Growers Council, Jaganath Sami.
