INTHEBLACK October/November 2024 - Magazine - Page 45
There are new and safer
sugar substitutes emerging
that could deliver greater
flavour and nutrition to foods
and beverages.
Question marks exist over
some common sugar
alternatives that have been
linked to negative health
effects, particularly aspartame.
Following a spike in global sugar prices,
the Australian Department of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry predicts the value of
Australian sugar exports will remain stable
in 2024–25 at A$2.2 billion, while sugar
prices should “hold steady at elevated levels”
because of ongoing international supply
shortages throughout 2023 and 2024.
However, the sugar shortage has an
economic impact on multiple industries.
Of these, the food and beverage industry
is the most affected – an industry composed
of confectionary, baked goods, beverages,
dairy and processed foods. However,
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agricultural feed,
alcoholic beverages and hospitality – which
rely on sugar to differing degrees – are also
impacted by the shortage.
Canegrowers is a not-for-profit
organisation that represents the sugarcane
regions of Queensland. Canegrowers CEO
Dan Galligan says forward-pricing strategies
should enable Australian canegrowers to lock
in high prices for at least another two years.
Nevertheless, he concedes that the sugar
industry is facing challenges on many fronts,
The sugar industry is looking
to ramp up its investments
in sustainable aviation fuels
to eventually transform
canegrowing.
including workforce shortages, high fertiliser
costs and the likelihood of rising water and
energy costs in coming years. “Those issues
have certainly been a constraint,” Galligan
says. “Electricity prices have been and always
will be a problem for canegrowers, given that
about 65 per cent of the industry is irrigated,
which means a lot of the cost of production
goes into pumping water.”
He adds that the trend towards
converting Australian sugarcane
plantations into macadamia orchards and
other crops is making sugar mills less viable,
while the ever-growing encroachment of
property developers and renewable energy
companies has left farmland as a “very
contested landscape”.
“Renewable energy projects are certainly
gobbling up agricultural land,” Galligan says.
Patrick Viljoen CPA, ESG lead at CPA
Australia, emphasises the need to strike
a balance between renewable energy
development and safeguarding canegrowers.
The other elephant in the room is having
to navigate a complex reputational and
regulatory environment given increasing
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