22 Jan 2008

Fiji water export company welcomes temporary lifting of export ban

2:03 pm on 22 January 2008

The company, Natural Waters of Viti Limited, says it is pleased with yesterday's court ruling in Lautoka to allow the export of container shipments of Fiji Water to resume until its judicial review returns before the court at the end of the month.

The company says almost four million US dollars worth of bottled water have been blocked by the Fiji Islands Revenue and Customs Authority after a disagreement over the product's export value.

The court has asked the company to pay a bond of three million US dollars in the interim.

The company's spokesman Rob Six says it maintains that FIRCA is acting on poor advice which is based largely on incorrect information and speculation of the transfer price of traded goods from Fiji.

He says the company has put a lot of time and thought into pricing Fiji Water, and has based the product's export price in line with international OECD guidelines.