Northern Division

Northern Division covers Vanua Levu—Fiji's second-largest island—comprising Bua, Macuata, and Cakaudrove provinces. Labasa (population 28,500 at 2010 census) serves as the division's hub, home to a large Indian community and the only sugar mill on the island, operated by Fiji Sugar Corporation. Sugar production has collapsed nationally from 4.38 million tons (1996) to 1.60 million tons (2022), with Vanua Levu's soils degraded from intensive monoculture over 30 years. Mills closed early in 2024 amid unharvested cane, prompting FJD 80,000 compensation to growers. In 2023, the government announced a $200 million, 10-year Tourism Development Program in partnership with the World Bank to develop Vanua Levu as an alternative tourism destination. The division has been declared a Tax Free Region (up to 13 years corporate tax holiday) to encourage investment. The Ministry of Sugar Industry's New Farmers and Lease Renewal Program is assisting cane farmers in Seaqaqa, Bucaisau, and Wainikoro—but the industry's structural decline seems irreversible. By 2026, Northern Division's trajectory depends on whether tourism diversification can replace sugar's diminishing role, or whether Labasa joins the outer islands in demographic decline.