A labour shortage in Fiji's sugarcane industry has forced the government to recruit workers from Vanuatu.
Trucks transport sugarcane for crushing in Lautoka in Fiji's west. Photo: RNZ Pacific/Koroi Hawkins
About 20 Vanuatu nationals arrived in Fiji last weekend and will undergo a pilot cane-cutting program.
The permanent secretary for sugar, Yogesh Karan, told the Fiji Times the high labour rates being forced on cane-growers and farmers moving to alternative crop and vegetable farming had prompted the government to bring in the Vanuatu workers.
Mr Karan said if the programme proved successful, more labourers from Vanuatu will be brought in next season.