Sugar industry issued with marketing ultimatum

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015: SUGAR industry representatives were given an ultimatum on marketing in Canberra today by the Minister for Industry and Science Ian Macfarlane.About 40 people from various sectors of the industry attended the meeting at Parliament House this morning organised by the Industry Minister.There was a very robust discussion with questioning and rebuttals, and all points of view were heard.I think we thrashed it out as much as we could today, and Minister Macfarlane said there was quite clearly an impasse on sugar marketing arrangements.That is why he has today announced he will appoint an independent mediator to work with the industry on resolving this, and the industry now has 30 to 45 days to achieve that resolution.There are three options on the table for the industry to negotiate on; do they offer a farm gate price for sugar, do they allow the millers to determine marketing arrangements, or do they allow growers the ability to choose their sugar marketer?Out of these the three options that are on the table, the Minister wants one to be agreed upon by the industry in that timeframe and to me it’s clear it can only be the grower choice option.At the 30-day mark, the independent mediator will report back to Minister Macfarlane and if it’s clear that the industry will not agree, the Minister said the Government will then act and resolve the issue.He issued a pretty stern warning that there would be punishing bureaucracy inflicted upon millers if there is no resolution, so there is a clear incentive for action on this.The meeting was attended by millers, grower representative groups, independent farmers as well as Queensland Sugar Limited.Those present from the Mackay and Burdekin sugar growing regions were Mackay Sugar chairman Andrew Capello, Queensland Canegrowers chairman Paul Schembri, Burdekin District Canegrowers Group representatives Russ McNee and Julie Artiach, and independent growers Ian MacGibbon,  Ben Nielson and Steve Kirby.We all hope that the sugar industry itself can come to a resolution on this itself, but it needs to be one in which the growers choice is respected as far as I am concerned.However, I don’t have much faith in the big millers, like Wilmar, to actually come to the party, and I think what we will find is that in 30 to 45 days we will still be at an impasse.If that is the case, I will be strenuously advocating for all provisions of the mandatory code of conduct devised by the Sugar Marketing Code of Conduct Taskforce to be adopted as government policy.The Sugar Marketing Code of Conduct Taskforce, which I chaired, submitted its recommendations to both the Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce and Small Business Minister Bruce Billson in June.