Sugarcane industry worries about future as Cairns's urban growth encroaches
The sugarcane industry has been in the Cairns region for 130 years. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
In short:
Sugarcane growers near Cairns say urban expansion is reducing farmland and putting the region's sugar industry at risk.
Industry groups and stakeholders are forming a committee to push for stronger protections for agricultural land in future town planning decisions.
What's next?
Growers see an opportunity to transition into the production of other sugarcane-based products beyond raw sugar crystal.
Sugarcane growers near Cairns are concerned that urban expansion is threatening the future of farming in the area.
Advocacy group Canegrowers and other stakeholders are forming a committee aimed at safeguarding the industry's future.
Since the 1980s, multiple sugarcane mills in the wider Far North region have closed due to a decline in cane production, in many cases as a result of land being purchased and repurposed.
The most recent closure was the Mossman Mill, which went into liquidation in 2024, leaving farmers in financial and logistical limbo about the future of agriculture in the region.
Cane farmer and Canegrowers Cairns region director Paul Gregory said the current situation for the Mulgrave Mill in Gordonvale was "dangerous".
Mulgrave Mill will crush about 900,000 tonnes of cane this season. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
He said sugar mills generally needed to crush about 1 million tonnes of cane each season to remain profitable.
The Mulgrave Mill is expected to process between 900,000 and 950,000 tonnes of cane when crushing begins next week.
"The mills need a certain amount of throughput to remain viable. Once that drops below that, then they're sort of crushing at a loss," Mr Gregory said.
"And you've only got to look up the road at Mossman and see what happens when that situation is reached."
The sugarcane harvest is expected to begin next week in Cairns. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
He said sugar cane would contribute about $800 million to the whole Far North region's economy this year, while employing about 1,600 people.
The Cairns Regional Council is looking to revise its planning scheme.
"One of the things that we really want to see embedded in that new town planning document is the retention of the agricultural land so that it's not lost forever to urban use," Mr Gregory said.
Sugarcane fields characterise the countryside south of Cairns. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
Economist Pete Faulkner estimated sugar cane production and processing employed about 600 people in the Cairns local government area and accounted for about 0.5 per cent, or $50 to $55 million, of the value of goods and services produced there.
However, he said the sector's value to the Cairns economy went further.
"[Sugar cane] is a significant part of the culture and the history and the tapestry of the place, and the cane growing sector generally does have a role and does play a role in natural resource management," Mr Faulkner, from Conus Consultancy, said.
"Those are much more difficult to quantify, but you can't ignore them."
Sugarcane farms can be found throughout Cairns city. (ABC Far North: Brendan Mounter)
Transitioning to other products
Australia's sugar industry remains heavily focused on exporting raw sugar crystal.
The Cairns region's cane is processed by MSF Sugar, whose Thai parent company, Mitr Phol, has expanded into a range of sugarcane-based products overseas, including fertiliser, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Mr Gregory said similar investment in alternative sugarcane products in Australia could help secure a long-term future for the industry.
"It's a wonderful crop, and you can make about 120 different things out of cane,"he said.
He said investment in new products would take time and require support from the milling company, but that could only happen if there was certainty around agricultural land.
Australia processes sugar cane predominantly for raw sugar crystal export, which can then be refined. (ABC Far North: Sophie Johnson)
"If we keep losing land at the rate we're losing it now, then that opportunity to transition will be taken away from us," he said.
"We've got support from our local member, [and] we are having very fruitful discussions with council, senior council staff and the councillors around this.
"They see the value."
Mr Faulkner said the steady decline in cane production meant there was a need to plan for the future before the viability of the mill reached a "tipping point".
"If you try and stick your head in the sand and pretend that's not going to happen, then when you fall over that cliff, you've got no alternatives,"he said.
The state member for Mulgrave, Terry James, said he would set up a steering committee with the mill and canegrowers to come up with a plan.
Terry James wants the industry to form a plan for its future. (ABC News: Conor Byrne)
Mr James said there was a need to make sure urban growth did not encroach onto farmland outside defined areas earmarked for housing at Mount Peter, a proposed suburb south of Cairns.
The Queensland government last year declared the Mount Peter priority development area, where more than 18,500 homes housing 42,500 people were expected to be built in the next 20 years.
Currently on the market
Several agricultural properties are listed for sale around Cairns, including Mann's Farm on Mill Road at Edmonton.
The 52-hectare cane farm is expected to be sold and repurposed for residential development.
Mann's Farm on Mill Road in Edmonton is for sale. (Supplied: CBRE Cairns)
"The site offers the opportunity for a master-planned residential and commercial estate to cater for the ever-growing Cairns residential population," selling agent Danny Betros said.
"Cairns has a shortage of residential land, with limited supply over the next 12 to 18 months, and the extension of the Mount Peter development zone is still some years away."
Mr Betros said the property was being sold under instructions from appointed trustees.