Penang (Rakiraki) Sugar Mill
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The Penang Sugar Mill in Rakiraki, Fiji is one of the four sugar mills being operated by the Fiji Sugar Corporation. The Fiji Sugar Corporation is the sole producer of raw sugar in Fiji.
[edit] History
The Charmers brothers built a mill at Penang in 1878. It was later transferred to Fraser and Company and then sold to Melbourne Trust Company in 1896. The mill was enlarged (with machinery from Mago Island, where a mill had closed in 1895) and the increased crushing capacity together with favourable weather conditions enabled the mill to operate independently until 1926 when it was taken over by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR). In 1973, the Penang Mill, together with three other mills being operated by the CSR were sold to the Fiji Government subsidiary, known as the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC). The Fiji Government is still the major shareholder in the Company.
[edit] Present Operation
The Penang mill is the smallest of the four sugar mills operated by the FSC, the other three mills being Rarawai (Ba) Sugar Mill, Labasa Sugar Mill and the Lautoka Sugar Mill . Sugar is supplied to the mill by train as well as by trucks. The mill has the distinction of having the highest proportion of cane delivered to it being by trucks, compared to the three other mills. Sugar is exported via the Ellington Wharf, also located in the rakiraki district.
[edit] Bibliography
- Gillion, K. L. (1962). Fiji's Indian Migrants: A history to the end of indenture in 1920. Oxford University Press, pp. 78-79. ISBN London.
