The much-anticipated crushing of cane at the Broadwater Sugar Mill has been met with a mixture of joy, relief, pride and achievement.
“Sunshine Sugar employees, along with a range of contractors have worked tirelessly for the past six months to make this happen, and I hope they take a moment to savour the reward of seeing the mill up and running again for its 141st season”; said Chief Executive Officer, Mr Chris Connors.
Almost six months after unprecedented flooding devastated the Richmond Valley, the Broadwater Sugar Mill is getting back to the business of crushing locally grown sugarcane.
The February/March 2022 flood event brought almost 3 metres of water through the mill, leaving behind a scene of chaos and devastation.
Many local cane farmers and mill employees in the area lost their homes, crops, livestock and machinery.
Mr Connors said, “The delivery of the first load of cane and the commencement of crushing for the first time this year, is a huge milestone and a positive step toward recovery of not only the local sugar industry, but for all of the local businesses and communities involved in the farming, harvesting and milling of sugarcane here in the Richmond.”
Although some of the Richmond sugarcane has been able to be harvested and transported to either the Condong or Harwood sugar mills for milling, having the local mill back in operation is a huge boost for the local growers and workforce.
“Once the mill is consistently processing cane over the next few hours, we can safely say that the Broadwater Sugar Mill is back”; said Mr Connors.
We are hoping to have some more positive news very shortly with the announcement of the Anchor Grants. We have been progressing getting the business back in operations and maintaining our full workforce, but it has come at a cost. The Anchor grants are going to be critical to our ongoing viability.
