5 May 2026. Chris Punzell, AgForce Cane President
The hot topic at the moment is the state of the nation, isn't it?
I know it's like an echo out of the Swiss Alps - everyone's going on about the same issues. But it is at the forefront of everyone's minds.
As far as the focus on the sugar industry, there's growing concern going forward through this year with the shocking sugar prices, combined with the double and triple whammy of astronomical fertiliser prices, fuel prices, and uncertainty. All of these are sitting above where we need them to operate economically.
We're all concerned about the industry going forward - including the millers - because all those impacts put together might see a reduction in cane farm numbers or in people leaving the industry. There's a lot of future at stake here with the sugar industry.
I don't know how other industries or commodities will survive. They will equally be under the same strain.
As for the fuel excise, the government needs to return the 26 cents a litre from the fuel excise back to us and give us something to support primary industries through these challenges.
Because of course these pressures have not arisen out of nowhere. We are also dealing with other concerns, such as the pressure put on primary producers by the rolling out of the changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) Act.
We'd like to see it all return to normality as soon as possible of course, but that may not happen. We need to see a bit more help and support across primary industries. That's the main one. More assistance is needed.
We have been pushing for circular economies, biofuels, co-generated power systems and industry diversification for years with the aim of making primary industries sustainable.
This is a major wake up call for this nation to realise how vulnerable we are and the urgent need to develop this nation to a point where it is self-sustainable. We may not get another chance at this and need to take advantage of this opportunity.
Be assured that AgForce is working tirelessly to try and bring the urgent needs of our industry to the attention of government.
We need unity from all Ag organisations to ensure our collective future.
