CANEGROWERS Mackay Chairman Joseph Borg said it is pleasing news that the halfway mark for the 2025 crush has now been crossed in both Mackay and Plane Creek Milling areas.
“We have crossed the 50 per cent mark and moving towards 60%. We are not where we would like to be, but we are certainly in a better place than this time last year, and that’s a positive,” Mr Borg said.
“Factory performance has improved on last year, but logistical issues including transport and communications have caused delays in both our milling areas this year. Growers waiting for bins has been a persistent issue.
“Hopefully we will see performance improvements there and be able to remove the remainder of the crop in a timely manner.”
Ideally, the halfway point is reached early in September, heading to a mid-November finish, which is a reality that has not been achieved in the previous four harvests. Current trends are heading to a mid-late December finish, running the risk of harvest again colliding with the onset of the monsoon.
The large amount of standover from the 2024 harvest is being processed incrementally, and while CCS is still climbing, the standover factor is suppressing weekly CCS levels.
“Standover is a challenge for profitability for growers, is difficult to harvest and can be a challenge to process at the mill. It is to be hoped that in 2025, we will remove the full crop,” said Mr Borg.
He noted that Wilmar Plane Creek had revised down its crop estimate to 1.44Mt from 1.53Mt, which had bolstered the miller’s percentage processed.
“I suspect that there will be a downwards revision on the crop estimate from Mackay Sugar in the near future, also.”
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