Australia-Sugar Harvest 2 million tons.

Good rain, minus floods, and plenty of sunshine during the peak summer cane growing period has set the NSW 2009 crop up to climb back to a higher tonnage after last season’s big decline where the final harvest came in at 1,930,941 tonnes.

The State’s three mills, on the North Coast, finished crushing last month with Condong recording 486,362t from the Tweed River growing area, Broadwater on the Richmond River doing 832,870t and Harwood on the Clarence 611,709t.

It was the first time in at least six years NSW has produced less than two million tonnes of cane and was the result of extreme frosts, floods this time last year, harvesting delays and a generally poor growing season.

The loss of cane land across the three milling areas – much of it to "lifestyle" property purchases but some to other agriculture industries such as soybeans and macadamias – also played a role in the smaller crop, according to NSW Cane Growers Association chairman, Vince Castle, Harwood.

And despite the improved seasonal conditions and the fact world sugar prices have defied the global economic slump with current figures of $440 and $460 a tonne predicted to hold firm for the next three years, this year’s NSW tonnage is still unlikely to be much above the two million mark, he said.