Growers ready to lead industry down new road

Peak industry organisation CANEGROWERS is ready and willing to lead the way to a more profitable and diversified future for sugarcane outlined in a new roadmap.

“This document has been two and a half years in the making. It is exciting as a cane grower to be at the starting point of a new chapter in our sugarcane industry’s story,” CANEGROWERS Chairman Owen Menkens said. “We are ready to lead the transition, working with existing and new investors.”

CANEGROWERS initiated a Sugar Industry Leaders Forum in late 2020 to talk about realising bioeconomy opportunities to add to Australia’s expertise in quality raw sugar production. Today the Sugar Plus vision has been launched to position the industry as fuelling the Future of Food, Energy and Fabrication.

“We know that the green and renewable crop we grow has huge potential to be the raw material for products such as biofuels and bioplastics and we’ve been pushing for this kind of whole-of-industry collaboration,” Mr Menkens said. 

“This roadmap points the way, outlining priorities and actions which the whole supply chain has agreed to.

“Importantly, both the Federal and Queensland governments have supported the development of the roadmap, seeing that a strong and diversified sugarcane industry secures the future prosperity of regional communities. 

“CANEGROWERS will be representing the interests of growers in a series of working groups, which will be tasked with making the vision a reality.”

Read more about Sugar Plus here: Industry Roadmap - Sugar Plus - Sugar Research Australia

The roadmap development process was and supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia, Sugar Research Australia (as project sponsor), CANEGROWERS, the Australian Sugar Milling Council, AgForce, Australian Cane Farmers Association and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.