NSW cane growers are considering selling 50 per cent of their sugar milling operations in the State’s North East to big family-owned agribusiness Manildra Group.
NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative, owned by just over 500 growers, has three mills: Harwood, Condong and Broadwater.
The co-op also has a refinery at Harwood, which it has owned in partnership with Manildra since 1989.
Cane growers yesterday received a proposal to extend the current partnership with Manildra from sugar refining operations to encompass the full milling business.
The new deal, which would see two Australian-owned agriculture icons join forces flies in the face of the current trend in the local sugar industry, where more than 70pc of assets are foreign-owned.
NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative chief executive officer Chris Connors said the proposal was about security and sharing risks and profits.
The deal on offer would grant cane growers veto powers over potential business partners if Manildra looked to sell out of its share.
Shed meetings will be held in the next few months ahead of a postal ballot. The process expected to take just over four months. The deal needs support from 75pc of voting members.
The NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative was formed when cane growers purchased its three mills from CSR in 1978. Cane is grown in the Tweed, Richmond and Clarence Valleys.
The refinery partnership has produced more than six million tonnes of refined sugar and related products in its lifetime. It’s one of the largest employers in the area.
The Manildra Group, owned by the Honan family, operates the tenth largest flour mill in the world at Manildra.
It is the largest user of wheat for industrial purposes in Australia, processing a million tonnes of wheat per annum. It also has interests in ethanol.
Shan Goodwin
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
