MEDIA RELEASE
GROWER PLANTING SCHEME
New South Wales Sugar Milling Cooperative Limited has announced a Grower Loan Planting Assistance Scheme to help growers recover from the disastrous 2010 planting season.
In an effort to support growers’ recovery to full production and increase the area of land under cane, NSW Sugar with the assistance of the Manildra Group is offering a Plant Loan Scheme.
The Scheme has been totally supported by the Manildra Group as part of its partnership with the Co-operative in the sugar refining business and is a reflection of the strong relationship that has developed.
Plant loan assistance of $1000 per hectare will be available to growers of NSW Sugar with Cane Supply and Processing Agreements for all cane planted in 2011 and 2012.
The Plant Loan will be advanced at $1000/ha on eligible areas. Repayments of the loan will come from cane payments over two harvesting seasons when the cane is harvested. In most cases where two-year-old crops are harvested the first repayment of cane planted in 2011 will not commence until January 2014.
Chairman of the Co-operative said – “the initiative was necessary because many growers had attempted to plant at least twice last season without success. They had incurred significant costs and had nothing to show for it. They were in a situation where they simply could not afford the costs of planting this season.
He said it was disappointing that any cries for assistance by the growers had fallen on deaf ears at both a State and Federal level.
One would have thought that at a State level there would have been strong support to assist given the debacle at the end of Cogeneration Joint Ventures where actions by our State Government owned partners left the Co-operative and it growers significantly out of pocket.
The future of the sugar industry will be far more positive if this scheme is successful. A viable and sustainable growing sector was the backbone of sugar milling, sugar refining and cogeneration operations. It is wonderful that our partners in the refining business have recognised this and were prepared to support the scheme through the sugar refining financial facilities.”
A series of shed meetings will be held in the next week and full details of the scheme have been sent to growers this week.
Chris Connors
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Contact: 02 66812706