Flood-hit sugarcane farmers brace for huge losses as prices slump

Cane growers around Ingham are struggling under the dual burden of plummeting sugar prices and the ongoing impact of the disastrous March floods.

The Herbert River cut off the towns of Ingham, Halifax
and Lucinda for several days during the March flood event.

Two separate flood peaks hit the Herbert River sugar cane district, ripping up thousands of hectares of farmland and causing $15 million in local infrastructure damage alone.

At the same time, a global glut exacerbated by sugar subsidies paid by the Pakistan and Indian governments, led to sugar prices crashing.

At a current 2018 price of around $380 per tonne, worldwide sugar prices are below the cost of production.

Read the story by Tom Major from ABC News - “Flood-hit sugarcane farmers brace for huge losses as prices slump.”