4 May 2015
Australian Sugar Milling Council

The Australian sugarcane crush is set to commence in eight days time with the Mossman Mill, north of Cairns, announcing 11 May as its start date.

Starting estimates for 2015 have been finalised with a crop in the order of 33.75 million tonnes in prospect for Australia. If achieved, this will represent more than a 1 million tonnes increase on the 2014 crop.

The Far Northern region of Queensland continues to contribute positively to this improved outlook with likely the best crop for the past ten years available for crushing. Just on seven million tonnes of cane is expected to be harvested in the region from Tully to Mossman.

The Herbert – Burdekin region is expecting a crop of the same order as last year with 12.3 million tonnes forecast. The mysterious yellow canopy syndrome is again evident in this region and has been responsible for tempering predictions. Also, very dry conditions in much of the Herbert River cane growing area in the past couple of months have slowed growth.

The failure of the wet season has also been the main contributor to a lower than average forecast for the Central region of the State with an expected 8.1 million tonnes available for harvest.

The Southern region of the State has fared better in terms of rainfall to assist growth. As a result, a crop of about 4.25 million tonnes is expected to be crushed in mills from Bundaberg south to the Rocky Point Mill near the Gold Coast.

Completing the outlook for Australia is New South Wales where an improved season has contributed to the promise of a crop in excess of two million tonnes which, if harvested, will be their best since 2007.

Australian Sugar Milling Council – 4 May 2015

For further information contact Dominic Nolan CEO – 07 3231 5000 / 0419 287 734