Sugar Cane Growers Fund welcomes Government's $5m fuel subsidy for sugar industry

The Sugar Cane Growers Fund (SCGF) has welcomed the Government's newly announced $5 million fuel subsidy for the sugar industry, describing it as timely support for growers facing rising costs and falling global sugar prices.

The fund thanked the Ministry of Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry, the Ministry of Finance and industry stakeholders for responding to concerns raised by growers and other industry participants.

SCGF chief executive officer Raj Sharma said the past few weeks had been challenging as Government and industry stakeholders worked together to find practical solutions to support growers and sustain the industry.

"Government has its own fiscal constraints, yet it has once again demonstrated its commitment to the sugar industry," he said.

"SCGF has also stepped in where possible to provide interim financial support, directly or indirectly, to growers or the industry during this difficult harvesting period."

Mr Sharma said global sugar prices had fallen significantly and were now almost half their previous levels, while fuel and operating costs remained high.

Despite those challenges, he said the Government had maintained the guaranteed cane price at $85 per tonne, a level of support not available to many other agricultural sectors.