CANBERRA: Australian sugar production will rise 6% next season, the Australian commodity bureau Abares said, boosting ideas for exports. Abares ascribed the strong outlook for next season to “an expected increase in cane plantings and an improvement in yields”. Australian 2016-17 sugar production was seen at 5.1m tonnes, up from 4.8m tonnes this season.
The stronger production will help exports rise by 4% next season, to 4.0m tonnes, extending 5% increase over the current season. And with the Australian currency set to weaken further, and world sugar prices recovering, the value of exports is forecast to rise by 7% next season, to Aus$1.9bn.
This uptick in production and exports was seen rising over the medium term. The area of sugarcane harvested was seen at 413,000 hectares in 2020-21, up 5% from current levels, although still lagging the record levels achieved in 2003. “The expansion of cane area is expected to be constrained by limited suitable land close to existing sugar mills and the conversion of some former cane land to other uses, including forest plantation,” Abares said.
