Australia: Sugar To Increase

Posted by Matt Hopkins|15 April 2008

Sugar production in Australia will by higher than thought thanks yield and area increases, marking a recovery from the country’s long drought.

The US Dept. of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA-FAS) reports that the 2008/09 cane harvest is past the recent problems with drought, rust, and sugarcane smut. However, USDA-FAS reports that the area planted to sugarcane remains under pressure from urban encroachment, competition from other crops, mill closures, and other restructuring issues.

The competition from competitive crops will remain strong for the near future. However, improved yields are still likely to boost overall cane production. Plant breeding and other agronomic advances will be the focus of industry participants going forward.

The Australian cane crop has received heavy rainfall and flooding in key production areas, and USDA-FAS believes that the rainfall has benefited cane production, as the production increase from improved moisture will likely outweigh flood damage. However, if excessive rain persist into 2008/09, the production forecast will likely be revised downwards.