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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 manufacturers are working around the clock to ensure factories and rail infrastructure are ready for the 2025 crush, after one of the most severe wet seasons in some key sugar regions across North Queensland.

The impacts of the North Queensland floods have been profound – flooding factories, washing out rail lines, damaging rail signals and bridges, and delaying critical mill maintenance.

“At the end of the day our manufacturers have every right to use regional roads, and as the cost of maintaining cane rail infrastructure becomes too high, the sector might have to look at road transport more seriously,” Mr Salardini said.

“The ballooning cost of maintaining our rail infrastructure due to the increased frequency and severity of natural disasters requires governments to revisit their approach to disaster recovery. Let’s make sure that next time a flood hits, industry and government can work together to get the cane rail network up and running for the benefit of all impacted regional Queensland communities.”

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.

Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) have told Queensland’s Primary Industries and Resources Committee that bioenergy can secure the future of the sugar industry, and called for a coordinated government-industry approach to make it a reality.

Appearing before the committee today, ASM CEO Ash Salardini outlined how Queensland’s sugar sector could power up to 500,000 homes with renewable electricity, supply 40% of Australia’s aviation fuel needs, and establish world-leading manufacturing facilities – all while supporting more than 20,000 regional jobs.

“I don’t know of too many other power plant options that provide baseload and renewable electricity capacity and supports 20,000 jobs,” Mr Salardini said.

Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) is calling for a strategic partnership with Defence to secure an indigenous biofuels capability in Northern Australia – a proposal that would enhance national security, reduce reliance on imported fuels, and create shared infrastructure benefits for both sectors.

“Our political leaders have unequivocally stated the need to enhance our defence capabilities in the face of an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment, yet we have done very little to secure the liquid fuel supply chains that our defence forces run on and rely upon,” said Mr Ash Salardini, CEO of the ASM.

Australia has around two weeks’ worth of liquid fuel reserves and is wholly reliant on overseas supply chains. This is a critical national security vulnerability for Australia.

Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) has released its election priorities which target continued growth for regional economies and reinforce sugar’s status as a key element of regional manufacturing in Queensland.

The $4.4 billion sugar industry employs over 20,000 people and contributes around $2.5 billion annually to Australia’s export revenues. Beyond sugar, the sector offers major opportunities in baseload renewable electricity and biofuels.

The Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) have urged the Queensland Government to recognise the sugar industry’s unique potential to deliver renewable, synchronous baseload electricity. By expanding its cogeneration capacity, the sector can play a key role in ensuring an affordable, reliable, and smooth energy transition for Queenslanders. 

“Sugar manufacturers can provide Queenslanders with 2.6 terawatt hours of electricity per year by expanding our cogeneration capabilities,” Ash Salardini, CEO of ASM said. “That’s enough to power around 500,000 homes with reliable, affordable, renewable energy.”

Australians could be paying more for their electricity because governments and political parties are overlooking the benefits of renewable electricity cogeneration from bagasse – a sugar manufacturing byproduct. This blind spot could push Queensland’s projected wholesale electricity prices up by 15% over the next decade. If governments partner with us, we could deliver a 10-15% reduction in forecast wholesale electricity prices in the coming decade for Queenslanders, saving consumers hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM) welcomes the Federal Government’s Budget announcement for the introduction of a national licensing scheme for electricians and the enhancement of apprenticeship incentives. The extension of these measures is essential to address the critical workforce challenges faced by the sugar manufacturing sector.

The Australian Sugar Milling Council has officially transitioned to its new identity as Australian Sugar Manufacturers (ASM), reinforcing its role in sugar production, renewable energy and bio-based manufacturing in Australia. The rebrand comes at a time when sugar manufacturing is being recognised as a viable and sustainable contributor to renewable energy and biofuel.

Ash Salardini, CEO of Australian Sugar Manufacturers says this was confirmed by the recently announced ARENA funding to assess the viability of a sustainable aviation fuel biorefinery at ASM’s member Isis Central Sugar Mill, using sugar derived feedstocks.

The Federal Government has since allocated $250 million from the $1.7 billion Future Made in Australia Fund to explore domestic feedstock supply for low-carbon liquid fuels.

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.