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‘Tis the season to be jolly’ with all the end of year parties. Unfortunately, the end of the year wasn’t so ‘jolly’ for our crushing season. With one grower loosing 14 hectares to a lightning strike on a wet paddock, hail damage and a few hectares condemned due to rain whilst harvesting, things were looking grim. Because of the cloudy weather and isolated falls, the remaining growers couldn’t get their paddocks to dry out sufficiently for the mill to continue operation, so the decision was made to finish what was already a delayed 30-week season. The final results were 450,751 tonnes crushed with approximately 31,000 tonnes remaining as standover. About 50,351 tonnes of sugar were produced at a ratio of 9:1. Total sugar content was down on last year to 13.3%pol. Mill recovery was up 4 percent to 84 percent which helped compensate for the lower pol. Despite this, the final shipment will be 3700T short of the minimum, incurring a dead freight penalty. |
The pricing also managed to over hedge their position, so reversing the order will cause more financial costs, as the price of sugar has risen in the interim. Contract negotiations continue to be bogged down. Everyone involved is conscious of the need to have something in place before the beginning of the 2005 season, otherwise growers won’t plant any cane. There are plans underway to have a group of growers travel to Korea to meet with the millers’ parent company Cheil Jedang, with the aim of developing trust and an understanding of each others future ambitions. The chief executive officer of Cheil Jedang is also due to visit the Ord next week, which will give growers an opportunity to explain their circumstances. July 05 futures have risen to nearly 9c/lb, which is excellent. It’s a shame that the Aussie dollar has been climbing strongly past 78c, which has cancelled out any gains in the sugar price. |
Recently, the growers attended a workshop to learn about trading in futures and options as individuals. The idea is to give growers more flexibility if they want to take a different level of risk from the pricing committee. This also reduces the pressure on the committee. The four canegrowers who drove from Cairns to Mackay for the Yield Decline workshop had a great time and appreciated farmers letting them look at their farms along the way. Looking at the dry parched crops, made us appreciate our 17ML/ha water license. We are looking forward to implementing some of the yield decline principles learnt if our SRDC proposal gets the green light. It’s time for me to head out into the 42 degree heat and give my cane a much-needed drink. Wishing everyone a well earned Christmas break, and may the rains tumble down. |