Sugar hits the sweet spot for Aussie growers

World sugar prices have hit levels not seen since the 1980s, bringing a welcome boost for Australian growers and millers who endured a tough harvest last season.

Tully cane grower Bryce Macdonald says his crop is almost ready to harvest.

World sugar prices have hit levels not seen since the 1980s, bringing a welcome boost for Australian growers and millers who endured a tough harvest last season.

The 2023 sugarcane crush is expected to start at the end of May, with weather forecasters suggesting that drier conditions will make life easier for sugar mills that ­battled incessant rain last year.

Sugar prices have more than doubled from about $400 a tonne two years ago to $804 a tonne in mid-April.

Reduced crop sizes and export volumes from Thailand and India, as well as delays at ports, have contributed to the spike in prices.

Canegrowers chair Owen Menkens said the prices were a result of the “stars aligning”.

“It’s a good time for growers,” he told The Australian.

“The 2024 and 2025 prices are good as well.”

Most growers have already forward-sold their sugar from the 2022 season, while sugar from the 2023 season has been fetching prices of up to $750 a tonne.

“I jumped in early when the price started to go up for the 2022 and 2023 season, but now the price has continued to keep going,” Mr Menkens said.

“But that’s the game we play; when you think you’ve got a good price, you grab it.”

Mr Menkens said most of the sugar produced in Australia this year would be shipped overseas straight away to meet international demand.

The sugar industry, 95 per cent of which is based in Queensland, is hoping that El Nino weather conditions will ensure a drier harvest and less disruptions to mills.

The incessant rain coupled with poor mill performance last year led to an extended harvest season and left some cane unharvested.

“The price is good this year so they (mills) should have the money to spend and invest in improving the availability of the mill,” Mr Menkens said.

Sugar cane grower Bryce Macdonald, who purchased his farm near Tully in north Queensland in 2010, said he had never expected to fetch 1980s prices.

“I certainly remember the talk around town (in the 1980s) about the good prices,” Mr Macdonald said.

“I remember what they can do for the town, because the farmers will pass it on. They’ll buy new tractors and repair what they’ve got. That’s why it‘s important everyone makes a bit of money out of it.”

Mr Macdonald said his crop growth had been somewhat hampered by both continuous cloud cover followed by a dry period but was now showing strong growth.

“A lot of farmers have been able to take advantage of forward-selling and catch those high prices,” he said.

“The cost of everything continues to rise, including harvesting costs, which are passed on. Having favourable sugar prices is a saviour.”

With about 80 per cent of domestic production shipped overseas, sugar is Australia’s ­second largest export crop, ­behind wheat, with a forecast ­export value this year of some $2.4bn.