5 June 2013
Frances Adcock

The first commercial sugar export will leave Bundaberg next week, five months after floods extensively damaged the port in the southern Queensland city.
A dredge has been used to remove silt and debris and 19 navigation aids have been replaced after they were washed away in January.

Bundaberg Port manager Jason Pascoe says last season’s sugar will be shipped out before this year’s crop can be exported.

“There’s about 180,000 tonne of sugar that we need to load out of the facility pretty quickly so we can make room for this season’s crop,” he said.

“Production is about 20,000 tonnes a week, so that’s once they start the crush which will be around mid-June.”

Mr Pascoe says it has been a time consuming process.

“Dredging is always a difficult process but we were very fortunate we had good weather,” he said.

“We were able to dredge more material than we expected, which was a positive but there’s also been challenges with the establishments of those navigational aids.”

To see the full story, please visit http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-05/flood-hit-port-begins-exporting-sugar-backlog/4734512?section=business