Media

With respect to recent cane rail incidents, the immediate focus of our members are with those impacted by these incidents, including for injured employees, family members, colleagues and first responders.  There are investigations on foot regarding these tragic incidents – the ASM will not speculate on the facts surrounding the matter and let these investigations make the findings they need to make.

The sugar industry takes cane rail safety very seriously, and we are deeply saddened by these tragic events. We work on a continuous improvement basis to adopt good safety practices across the network, and we will be undertaking a thorough review of these practices as a result of the findings from the investigations. However, the immediate focus is on the wellbeing of those impacted.

The Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) has today submitted a bold vision to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sugarcane Bioenergy Opportunities in Queensland, calling for a $40 million investment package to transform the sugar industry into the centrepiece of Australia’s renewable energy and low carbon liquid fuel future.

Representing an industry that supports over 20,000 regional jobs, the ASM outlines how Queensland’s sugar industry can leverage it feedstock (cane juice, molasses, and biomass) to become a national leader in biofuels, biogas, cogeneration, and biomanufacturing — if governments and industry act together.
The submission highlights:

• The potential to meet 30% of Australia’s aviation fuel demand using sugar-derived feedstocks.
• The ability to generate baseload renewable electricity equivalent to 500,000 homes through cogeneration.
• The opportunity to establish bioenergy precincts across regional Queensland that can pump out biofuels and biogas, leveraging our 4,000 km cane rail network to aggregate agricultural and forestry residues.
• The potential for new revenue streams for growers through the use of their tops and trash.

Queensland’s sugarcane industry has welcomed the Federal Government’s move to kickstart a national biofuels industry, declaring the state is uniquely positioned to lead the nation in clean energy and regional job creation.

The Government’s new ten-year Cleaner Fuels Program commits $1.1 billion “to help unlock the vast economic opportunities on offer from low carbon liquid fuels” such as biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel.

“The government must be commended for grabbing this once-in-a-generation opportunity with both hands,” ASM CEO Ash Salardini.

The Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry into bioenergy from sugar is set to visit sugar manufacturing facilities near Mackay and Townsville this week, kicking of a process that could be a defining moment in the development of Queensland’s biofuels and bioenergy sector.

The site visits, led by the Queensland Parliament Primary Industries and Resources Committee, will showcase the immense potential of sugar manufacturing to power a cleaner, more resilient energy future for Queensland.

“This isn’t just a tour—it’s the beginning of a transformation,” said Mr Ash Salardini, CEO of Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM). “The regions in and around Mackay, the Burdekin, Ingham and Townsville are uniquely positioned to lead Queensland’s bioenergy revolution.”

“Food and fibre manufacturing is by far the largest component of Australia’s manufacturing sector, and it’s overwhelmingly based in regional Australia,” said Mr Ash Salardini, CEO of ASM. “If we’re serious about having a manufacturing base in this country, we must supercharge these industries and seize emerging opportunities in low-carbon liquid fuels and bioenergy.” Like other trade-exposed manufacturers, Australia’s sugar producers are facing mounting global pressures, particularly depressed prices driven by heavy subsidies and protectionist policies in competing sugar-producing nations. “Our competitors aren’t playing by the rules of free trade – they’re propping up their sugar industries with heavy subsidies and domestic protections. And the reality is, it’s only getting worse.”

The Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) welcomes the release of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Growing Australia’s Bioeconomy report. The report provides an R&D roadmap to establish a substantial biomanufacturing capability in Australia, taking sugar from paddock to powerhouse.

“Australian sugar manufacturers can establish world leading capabilities in bioenergy, biofuels, and biomaterials, while continuing to be a globally significant producer of sugar,” Mr Ash Salardini, CEO of ASM said.

“As an example, we can provide 500,000 homes with renewable baseload electricity by leveraging our biomass and can provide between 30-40% of the liquid fuel needs of domestic aviation.”

The Queensland Government has answered calls from the Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) to establish a Parliamentary Inquiry into capturing bioenergy opportunities from Queensland’s sugar industry.

The Hon Tony Perrett MP, Minister for Primary Industries, has confirmed that the proposed inquiry has been formally referred to the Queensland Parliament Primary Industries and Resources Committee, chaired by Mr Stephen Bennett MP.

“The sugar industry can be a powerhouse energy producer through the production of biofuels and renewable baseload electricity. The only way we are going to get there is industry and government working hand in glove to capture these opportunities – this inquiry will provide the pathway to do exactly that,” Mr Ash Salardini, CEO of ASM said.

Queensland’s sugar manufacturing sector could be the next step in Australia’s renewable energy transformation, providing a domestic biofuels capability and enough electricity for up to 500,000 homes, according to industry leaders speaking tomorrow (15 May 2025) at noon at the Rural Press Club of Queensland event, The Future of Sugar and Bioenergy in Queensland.

An expert panel from across energy and primary industries will outline how sugar manufacturing can supercharge regional economies through the continued production of sugar, and expansion into renewable electricity and low carbon liquid fuels production, turning one of Queensland’s oldest industries into its newest energy powerhouse, and solidifying more than 20,000 regional jobs.

The Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC) is pleased to announce its upcoming rebrand to Australian Sugar Manufacturers. This change reflects the sector’s evolving role in advancing a diverse and sustainable manufacturing sector while reinforcing our contribution to Australia’s economy and regional communities.

The new name more accurately reflects the sector’s expanded role in producing high-quality sugar products, bioenergy and other bio-based goods. The rebrand aligns with the industry’s future direction and strengthens the organisation’s ability to champion the value of sugar manufacturing in Australia.

Today’s announcement of the development of a national food security and bioenergy strategy ‘Feeding Australia’ by the Federal Agriculture Minister, Julie Collins has been welcomed by the Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC).

ASMC CEO Ash Salardini says the Australian sugar industry can be central to Australia’s role in a global food and bioenergy future, and this national strategy will ensure collaboration between the key bioenergy stakeholders.

‘In a world that is being increasingly defined by geopolitical tensions, securing our food and energy future is not a ‘nice to have’, it is one of the defining challenges facing Australia’, said Mr Salardini.

The Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC) has released its 2025-26 Federal Pre-Budget Submission, highlighting the crucial role that sugar manufacturing can play in addressing key national challenges. The submission underscores the need for more proactive industry policy in response to emerging global uncertainty as international trade rules come under pressure, including recent decisions by the Indian Government to resume sugar exports despite World Trade Organisation (WTO) rulings.

ASMC CEO Ash Salardini said Australia’s trade-exposed industries, and the workers and communities that rely on them, are facing growing global trade headwinds that threaten long-term viability.

The Indian Government’s announcement to export up to one-million tonnes of raw sugar, ignoring previous WTO rulings against it, has raised alarms about potential market disruptions causing a decline in sugar prices globally.

The Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC) has welcomed today’s report of increases in the value of raw sugar exports to the United Kingdom resulting from the easing of tariffs under the Australia UK Free Trade Agreement which came into force in May 2023.

The UK had been a significant buyer of Australian raw sugar in the past and the opportunity to again sell sugar to refiners in the UK broadens the Australia sugar industry’s customer base.

The positive green shoots in terms of raw sugar exports to the UK came via an announcement by Federal Agriculture Minister, Julie Collins, who is in the UK discussing the improved trade ties and the resultant growth in two-way trade.

“The Queensland sugar industry has been a cornerstone industry in the State since the latter half of the 19^th century and it continues to be a powerhouse for the State’s economy supporting more than 20,000 jobs and contributing more than $4 billion dollars annually,” Mr Salardini said.

While tentatively welcoming the Boeing and CSIRO ‘Sustainable Aviation Fuel – State of Play” update, the Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) is calling on governments to urgently develop a National Biofuels Feedstock Strategy, as highlighted in the report released yesterday.

“The ASMC has been calling for this feedstock strategy since early 2024. Sugar manufacturers can be central to Australia’s biofuels future through the production of bioethanol and other biofuels feedstocks. However, we need a good healthy dose of reality in the debate – the current proposed alcohol-to-fuel SAF plants will not use a single scrap of Australian feedstock, they will rely on imported bioethanol from places like Brazil” said Mr Ash Salardini, CEO of the ASM.