It’s an early 2025 wrap-up to the 2024 sugarcane season

Sunshine Sugar

The NSW sugar industry has seen an unusually late end to the 2024 crush with Harwood Sugar Mill closing out the season on Tuesday 7th January 2025.

The 2024 crushing season in NSW had a buoyant start, with some crops achieving yields as much as 20 percent higher than forecast due to an extended period of exceptionally favourable growing conditions. This larger crop saw the earlier than planned introduction of 7-day operations at the Broadwater Mill and the addition of some 20 extra cane haul bins as well as some additional vehicles to service the Harwood Mill.

Both the manufacturing and agricultural operations were impacted by intense wet periods that occurred along the NSW north coast through September and November, resulting in signifcant delays to milling operations and pushing back much of the planting season.

Of NSW’s three sugar mills, the Condong Mill in the Tweed Valley fnished on December

13th having crushed just over 402,000 tonnes of sugarcane.

Of this, 22,000 tonnes of food grade Raw and Low GI sugar was produced at Condong, with the balance sent to the company’s refnery for white sugar production.

The Broadwater Mill which ceased crushing on December

20th, having crushed some 520,000 tonnes of sugarcane for the season. The remaining 4,000 tonnes of crop was harvested and transported to Harwood for processing.

In total, the Harwood Sugar Mill, which recently celebrated its 150 years of operation, crushed a total of 588,000 tonnes of sugarcane.

Sunshine Sugar Chief Executive Mr Chris Connors said, “whilst it has been a challenging season on many fronts, I am grateful to the staff, growers, harvesters and transport operators who worked together and persevered to ensure our growers cane was successfully cut and crushed.”

The NSW owned and operated Refnery, co-located at Harwood, expects to produce around 215,000 tonnes of white and caster sugar, along with food grade molasses and syrups and with the 22000 tonnes of DC raw and Low GI sugar gives Sunshine Sugar a total of 235,000 tonnes supplied to the domestic sugar market. These products are exclusively grown, made and sold in Australia to a range of retailers as well as food and beverage manufacturers.

Mr Connors shared that strong crop prices would continue into next year for NSW growers off the back of solid domestic sugar pricing and a comprehensive sales program delivered in partnership with Manildra Group.

Keep the Sheep Campaign Challenges PM Albanese in WA

IAN ROGERS

This morning, Keep the Sheep campaigners attended Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s event in Alkimos, intensifying their call for the government to reverse its live sheep export ban. Despite their presence, the campaigners reported receiving no response from the Prime Minister regarding their concerns.

A Direct Message to the PM Campaign spokesperson and

WA trucking business owner Ben Sutherland expressed frustration at the lack of engagement.

“We warned Albo to keep an eye on his rear-view mirrors as we’d be there. Today we asked him directly about the sheep trade and received crickets,” said Mr. Sutherland.

He reiterated that the Keep the Sheep campaign is ready to make the issue a key focus of the upcoming election campaign.

“We want him to know that Keep the Sheep is primed and ready for the election campaign.”

Grassroots Support and Political Pressure

The campaign has gained signifcant traction, boasting over 106,000 signatories on its petition and thousands of volunteers, collectively known as the ‘Farmy Army.’

“The ‘Farmy Army’ won’t let Albo visit WA without seeing our supporters and hearing the message loud and clear,” Sutherland said.

He also pointed to the possibility of reversing the ban before the next election, urging the government to act during what may be the fnal parliamentary sitting week.

“With possibly just one more parliamentary sitting period before the election, the PM faces a choice: reverse this devastating ban, or be prepared to see us and hear us every time he sets foot in WA between now and election day,” Sutherland warned.

Impact on Farmers and Industry

The live sheep export ban has already had a profound impact, with many farmers exiting the industry and sheep numbers plummeting to record lows. Sutherland criticized the Albanese Government’s policy for undermining the livelihoods of sheep farmers across WA and beyond.

Proven Grassroots Action

The Keep the Sheep campaign has demonstrated its ability to mobilize support, including a highly visible truck rally through the Perth CBD and a major rally in Muresk. The campaign’s persistent efforts refect the deep opposition within the farming community to the live export ban.

A Growing Election Issue

As the next federal election approaches, the Keep the Sheep campaign is determined to make live export policy a central political issue in Western Australia. With signifcant grassroots momentum, the campaign signals that Prime Minister Albanese and the Labor Government will face continued scrutiny and pressure on this divisive policy.