15 May 2013

An Open Letter to all Tableland Growers

MSF Sugar today announced the company would sign a new Raw Sugar Supply Agreement (RSSA)
with QSL for the 2014 season and beyond.
In response to feedback we received, MSF Sugar has been in discussions with QSL for the past 12 months to find a solution which will give growers access to QSL pricing pools and QSL raw sugar marketing. As you are aware in January 2013 MSF offered to extend the current RSSA with QSL for a year whilst discussions continued on the solution. This request was rejected.
Last Wednesday QSL presented a proposal which allowed all millers to be able to market their economic interest in the raw sugar. For MSF Sugar this is about 45 per cent of the raw sugar produced at our mills (includes raw sugar produced from company farms).
What was presented is similar to the June 2012 agreement which QSL has with Wilmar (Sucrogen). Wilmar International now markets one third of the raw sugar, produced at their Sucrogen mills, through its Singapore trading desk.
Drafting of the new RSSA is starting this week, with all millers having a meeting with QSL and lawyers on Thursday in Brisbane. The new RSSA is expected to be in place by the end of June 2013. The new RSSA will start for the 2014 season and beyond and will provide the means by which growers that contract to the Tableland Mill from 2014 the ability to continue to price their sugar with QSL.
With this issue effectively dealt with we are delighted that the new sugar mill is in the final stages of construction and commissioning. Steam trials are starting on Friday 17th May with the mill due to commence crushing on Tuesday 28th May. After a great deal of planning this will be the first year that raw sugar will be produced at the Tableland Mill.

What will this mean to growers who commit to Tableland Mill? We see the following benefits flowing to growers on the Tableland who supply cane to the Tableland Mill: