ARRANGEMENTS are being made to load imported raw material of fertilisers on bauxite ship that travels to Fiji from China.
Permanent secretary for Sugar Lieutenant Colonel Manasa Vaniqi said the bags of fertiliser to be purchased from China would be loaded on the bauxite ship that usually travelled empty back to the country.
He said having the fertiliser loaded on the ship would save a lot of money for the government.
"There are arrangements being made for us to buy fertiliser from a company in China and they will load it on the bauxite ship that comes to Bua," Lt-Col Vaniqi said.
"But we are looking at ways of having the ships deliver the raw material in Lautoka before it leaves for Bua," he said.
"The ship usually comes back empty with nothing loaded on it so we plan to have the fertiliser loaded on the ship.
"We are still discussing the idea," he added. South Pacific Fertilizers Ltd managing director John May will meet with the bauxite mine management team today to discuss the issue.
SPF plans to buy aluminium sulphate from markets in China, which will be mixed with other local ingredients and bagged into NPK fertilisers in Lautoka.
"We are looking at the possibilities of having the raw material come in from China on board the ships," Mr May said.
"It is a huge ship and so we can load 9000 to 10,000 tonnes of raw material on board.
"We also need to look at the location of where we will buy the raw material from.
"We are also considering costs of transport from the venue of purchase to the ship.
"SPF has always bought from Japan and Korea and not so much from China so this is an opportunity for us to buy fertiliser from China," he said.
Mr May said the visit to Nawailevu bauxite mining area today to meet with management would include inspection of barge and discussion of logistic details.