High cane crops are planted on the roads, harvesters are in the paddocks and smoke comes out of the chimneys, which means the start of crushing in Queensland.
There is “an air of expectation” with excellent crops, after timely rain and favorable prices.
Queensland produces about 95 per cent of Australia’s sugar cane, which is grown over 2,000 miles, from Mossman in the north to Rocky Point in south Brisbane.
What is crushed sugar?
It is the most vital part of the season after months of preparation by producers and mills.
Paul Schembri, former chairman of Canegrowers, the top body for Australian sugar cane producers, has no doubt about its importance.
“It’s the money part of the season,” he said.
“This creates cash flow, not just for industry; this cash flow is also being transferred to regional economies.
“There’s a huge amount of activity.”
It is estimated that 21,000 jobs are created directly or indirectly from industry.
Large sugar crops are expected in Isis after receiving good rains at the right time. (ABC Rural: Alys Marshall)
What happens next?
Sugar is produced in the back of a mill, and a part is refined to become white sugar bought in supermarkets and used in commercial food production.
Between eighty and 85 percent of sugar is exported, mainly to the Asia Pacific region.
“There is a new free trade agreement, which should increase the volume of sugar going to the UK,” Schembri said.
Coming to as many countries as possible, producers can take advantage of the best possible premiums on the market.
Prices are good
While the price of fresh produce continues to rise, consumers are unlikely to be affected by rising world sugar prices.
“There may be some minor price increases,” Schembri said.
“While the price of sugar is currently higher than it has been, the amount of sugar that eventually ends up in the supermarket is not large.”
Sugar cane is a unique and complex industry. (ABC Rural: Tom Major)
Large crops planned
Isis Central Sugar Mill CEO Peter Hawe says there is great optimism, with a huge harvest of 1.53 million tonnes planned.
“We’ve seen the cane return to some terrain because we’re experiencing really good overall prices right now,” he said.
“Some of our producers have set prices of more than $ 600 a tonne for this season and probably already more than $ 590 a tonne for the ’23 season.”
After years of drought, this season is finally to be celebrated.
“We’ve also had a very, very good growing season in terms of weather or rain … in the previous period, there has been rain at the right time,” Dawe said.
There is a lot of optimism this season, with favorable weather conditions after years of drought. (ABC Rural: Alys Marshall)
Wet weather causes some interruptions
However, Maryborough Canegrowers manager Cameron Waterson said wet conditions had delayed the start of the season and caused some internal damage to the road.
“So we ended up with three floods, two obviously causing damage,” he said.
He said the clean-up “is still a work in progress”.
Jim Crane, of the Australian Sugar Millers Council, said frosts were also a concern in the Mackay area.
“It’s not something that … has a dramatic immediate impact,” he said.
“If the cane has been badly damaged [by frost]you probably have six to eight weeks to process it without any real impact on either performance or quality. “
Some of the first reeds harvested in the Herbert region by 2022. (Supplied by: Wilmar Sugar)
Promising signs for the season
The season began in Tully, where supply, quality and yields are promising.
“They’re about 100 tons per acre on average,” Crane said.
“It’s an important figure … [if] this trend continues, we are very close to a harvest of more than three million tons for the first time in the history of this area.
Steam is up and running at Wilmar’s Victoria Mill, where sugar crushing has recently begun. (Supplied with: Wilmar sugar)
“This is a mill area [and] We need to take a look at what is happening among others, but without a doubt, the conditions have been consistent with the harvest that is happening a bit. “
He said the initial forecast in Queensland was just over 30 million tonnes, but that there would be a “calm view” to overcome it.
Find more local news
Posted 15 hours ago 15 hours Friday, June 24, 2022 at 10:15 PM, updated 9 hours, 9 hours ago, Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 4:14 AM