Local growers subsidised Mossman sugar mill during 2023 crush

Local growers subsidised the battling Mossman sugar mill to the tune of almost $750,000 during the 2023 crush, Canegrowers Mossman representative Matt Watson has revealed.

Mossman sugar mill in far north Queensland. Supplied Far Northern Milling

Local growers subsidised the battling Mossman sugar mill to the tune of almost $750,000 during the 2023 crush, Canegrowers Mossman representative Matt Watson has revealed.

He said in a statement growers had been paying a $2 per tonne sustainability levy to ensure the Mossman Mill could continue crushing – more than $7m in total.

The mill has the capacity to crush 1.2m tonnes of sugar per year, and has averaged 850,000 tonnes, but crushing statistics reveal last year it processed about 372,000 tonnes.

Mr Watson and Australian Cane Farmers Association representative Jack Murday are calling for government funding to keep the mill afloat and enable the 2024 crush to go ahead.

Canegrowers Mossman representative Matt Watson said growers had been paying a $2 per tonne sustainability levy. Picture: Supplied

“If the government abandons us by failing to support this plan to get the bio-precinct up and running, that may very well be the death knell for our community,” Mr Murday said.

Mr Watson said he believed in the viability of the bio-precinct initiative but the transition process had taken longer than first anticipated.

It was announced with much fanfare five years ago but the only tenant was CocoNutZ, which has since gone into liquidation.

That company, a Singapore-owned food tech start-up that aimed to produce kecap manis, scored Rural Economic Development grant funding in 2020.

In 2019, Mackay Sugar planned to shut the mill down.

Under the banner Far Northern Milling, growers acquired the mill in July 2019.

The growers co-operative Far Northern Milling took over the Mosman Mill in 2019, when owner Mackay Sugar planned to shut it down. Its parent company Daintree Bio Precinct went into administration on November 20 last year. Picture: Supplied

Mr Watson said a consortium – Helmont Energy and Licella, an advanced recycling company – had come forward with a plan to turn the precinct into a green energy hub, but only if the state government supported the initiative through guaranteeing the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

In 2019, the federal government handed out $20m “to enable the transition of the Mossman Mill from a traditional sugar mill to a producer of feedstock for a bio-refinery plant – this will provide long-term sustainability and viability for sugar producers and the Mossman region”.

The state government provided a $25m support package to help establish “an innovative bio-refinery”.

One of the first bins being tipped marks the start of the crushing season in Mossman PIC SUPPLIED CANE, MOSSMAN MILL, CANE CRUSHING SEASON, 2018

Douglas Shire taxpayers forked out $250,000 to help Far Northern Milling cover costs of acquiring the mill.

On November 20 last year, liquidation firm Worrells was appointed administrator of the companies

Documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission revealed while none of the 124 mill workers were owed wages, a total of $1,277,218 was owed in superannuation and annual leave entitlements.

The workers are unsecured creditors.

State MP Cynthia Lui and Agriculture Minister Mark Furner were contacted for comment.

Originally published as Local growers subsidised Mossman sugar mill during 2023 crush