Deal to truck Mossman cane to Gordonvale hits funding snag

Mossman cane growers are facing a race against time with a plan to send this year’s harvest south for processing held up over a dispute over who will pay to get it there.

Queensland Canegrowers CEO Dan Galligan said a deal was stalling on crushing Mossman cane south at Gordonvale over transport costs. Picture: Brian Cassey.

A draft agreement is in place to send Mossman sugar cane to MSF’s Mulgrave Sugar Mill at Gordonvale by road to be crushed.

But whether the sugar season can be saved is going down to the wire as disputes continue over who will pay to transport the crop.

“MSF Sugar at Gordonvale has developed a draft contract for growers to consider (for their cane) to go to Mulgrave,” Canegrowers Association CEO Dan Galligan said.

“But one of the final hurdles is working out the cost of the transport to get it there.

“So it could be processed at Mulgrave, but we’ve got to look at how you can manage the cost of the transport to make it viable.”

A draft agreement is in place to crush Mossman cane at MSF’s Mulgrave facility in Gordonvale south of Cairns. Picture: Brendan Radke

If no agreement is reached, over $15m worth of cane could be left to rot in the ground.

The Mossman sugar mill remains out of action, having gone into liquidation in March when a mystery investor pulled the plug on a planned purchase of the mill.

The mill had previously entered voluntary administration in November 2023.

A buyer to take on the facility is yet to be found.

Under terms of a draft supply agreement hashed out between representatives from the Canegrowers Association, MSF Sugar and the state government, sugar cane from Mossman growers would be trucked to MSF’s Mulgrave Mill about 100km to the south to be crushed.

Queensland Canegrowers CEO Dan Galligan said it was a race against time to harvest Mossman growers’ cane sugar. Picture: Brian Cassey.

While a deal for the supply of cane has been tentatively agreed to, the major sticking point remains how much money the state government will contribute to the cost of transport.

The state government announced a $12.1m package in support of Mossman growers in February.

That money was “to either assist a potential buyer for the Mossman Mill, or to help the community transition away from dependence on the facility,” a statement from Premier Steven Miles and Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said at the time.

The Mossman sugar mill remains out of action having gone into liquidation in March. Picture: Brendan Radke

“There’s ongoing negotiations with the government to try and see if they can assist in the cost of the transport as part of a transition,” Mr Galligan said.

“We’re still hopeful that we’ll get somewhere with the government and we need to because it’s not viable (as it stands).”

Growers were willing to contribute towards some of the transport costs but needed the government to fund a larger proportion than it was currently offering to pay for, The Cairns Post understands.

With the window to harvest this year’s crop closing fast, an outcome was urgently needed to avoid Mossman growers having to leave cane in the ground.

“Every day counts,” Mr Galligan said.

Originally published as Deal to truck Mossman cane to Gordonvale hits funding snag