FROM THE CHAIR

By Owen Menkens CANEGROWERS Chairman

The 2023 sugarcane harvest is finally underway, with the Tableland and Tully mills kicking off their crush late last month.

The remainder of Queensland’s 19 sugar mills will fire up over the coming weeks, as growers, harvest crews and mill workers race to get our entire 30 million tonne crop cut and crushed by the end of November.

Last year was one of the worst crushes in recent memory due to poor weather and poor mill performance in some areas.

The crush was so badly delayed that some districts were harvesting right through Christmas and well into January, and still we finished with a million tonnes of standover.

No-one could blame growers for being a little anxious heading into this year’s crush.

However, what I’ve discovered as I’ve travelled around the districts recently, speaking with members and grower representatives, is a sense of optimism.

Yes, last year was tough, but in recent months the world sugar price has skyrocketed, and growers are locking in fantastic prices for the 2023, 2024 and even the 2025 seasons.

The surge in the world sugar price is a result of a deficit on the world market due to poorer than expected crops in other large sugar producing nations such as India and Thailand.

Longer term, there is no obvious solution to how this deficit will be reduced. The Indian ethanol industry continues to grow and will eventually take up much of their exports.

The Brazilian crop is much larger this year, but still not enough to overcome the deficit. This is good news for the world price.

Australian growers are unique amongst their international peers as the only cane growers who can forward price, and many are capitalising on the current market.

Of course, mills can also take advantage of these once-in-ageneration prices, so there should be no excuse regarding more investment in capital and maintenance.

Growers need to be confident of good mill performance in order to plant and invest in their crops going forward.

Another reason for optimism is the recent fall in input prices. Of course, fertiliser prices are still well above where they were in 2020, but they’ve been falling steadily for months, and those lower world prices are finally filtering through to the local resellers. Fuel prices should also be lower this year.

Finally, forecasters are predicting a drier winter than last year, and unlike 2022 when monsoonal rain across the state stopped the harvest almost before it began, this year’s crush kicked off under crystal clear skies and cool temperatures. Perfect harvesting conditions.

All in all, things look pretty good for the industry heading into the 2023 crush. Let’s just hope things stay dry and the mills run well.