Sucrogen's vision splendid for Proserpine mill

The 2012 crushing is going to be one of the best in the industry for many years.

This bright forecast comes from the Executive General Manager of Sucrogen Cane Products Craig Doyle who is this week reiterating his company’s pledge to boost cane supply to the Proserpine Mill to over 2 million tonnes within three years.

"The weather is good, the price is good and the crops around Proserpine are looking fantastic," says Mr Doyle who confirms the four massive parcels of land pulled from auction at the eleventh hour before Christmas are most certainly on Sucrogen’s wish list.

"We are still discussing the finer details of the contract so I cannot say too much now. But all going well we hope to have secured the properties within two months. Sucrogen remains committed to finding ways of working with growers to boost productivity at the mill. So whether we get farmers in the area to lease the ground or whether Sucrogen manages them, we’re not certain. It’s still really early days," he said.

The 400 hectares of potential cane land at Gibson Creek – a block of land purchased by the mill some five years ago – is also at the centre of Sucrogen’s vision.

"The board had a plan to increase the yield from what they grew last season which was about 17,000 to 50,000 on this block. This was their vision! There just wasn’t the money there to back it up. But Sucrogen sees no reason why we can’t continue this plan."

Mr Doyle says while the relationship between grower and miller was never smooth sailing, he was hoping for a top future with great working relationships.

"We are nothing without the growers, and the growers would be stuck without a good, working mill. I can’t work miracles and I can’t promise it will be 100 percent complete before the beginning of the crush but I will do my absolute best to get the mill up to scratch and make sure the bins are on the line when it comes time to cut."