Australia's major exporter of raw sugar, Queensland Sugar Ltd (QSL), has kicked off its export programme for the current marketing year on a solid note despite weather induced setbacks last year, the firm said on Tuesday. This season's first sugar exports left Townsville in Queensland, Australia's major sugar cane growing state, last week. The load of about 27,000 tonnes of raw sugar was destined for New Zealand, QSL said in a report.
The second shipment left Townsville for South Korea last weekend but the quantity was not specified. "Although we know volumes will be down on normal seasons, there have been some positive indicators for the harvest in terms of the weather outlook and reports of reasonable sugar content," QSL said. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARES) has forecast exports would be about 2.48 million tonnes in the year to June 2012, well down from typical levels of more than 3 million tonnes due to flooding and a Cyclone Yasi in Queensland.
On Monday, New York sugar prices were driven down for most of the session by an oil-led decline in commodity markets, technical influences and abundant supplies, particularly in top consumer India. Despite volatility, prices for the sweetener remain above 26 US cents per pound.
Better infrastructure gave Australia an edge over major competitors, QSL said. "When you look at the impact that poor infrastructure has in Thailand and centre south Brazil, we offer our international customers a significant advantage in being able to guarantee the on-time delivery of their sugar," it said in the report.
Floods and Cyclone Yasi that hit Queensland early in the year, resulting in a large volume of silt being deposited in the shipping channel at the key export port of Bundaberg. QSL said port operations at Bundaberg had been disrupted as only smaller ships had been able to enter the port. "Dredging is now underway, which we expect will enable larger ships to access the port again, QSL said. QSL could buy 1 million tonnes of raw sugar from July this year to June 2012 to meet sales commitments after a cyclone decimated the country's output, Chairman Alan Winney said in May.
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