Invicta Mill in the Burdekin has kicked off the 2023 season for the Wilmar Sugar group of mills.

The first bin was tipped at Invicta Mill about 9am on Tuesday (6 June), signalling the start of production for Australia’s leading sugar manufacturer.

Wilmar’s other Burdekin mills are also starting this week. Pioneer Mill got under way last night (Tuesday), Inkerman Mill is scheduled to start today (Wednesday) and Kalamia Mill is scheduled to start tomorrow (Thursday).

General Manager Operations Mike McLeod said Wilmar expected to process about 15.9 million tonnes of sugarcane across its eight mills this year, to produce about 2 million tonnes of raw sugar.

“There’s a lot of optimism surrounding the 2023 season,” Mr McLeod said.

“There are projections for a return to drier, El Nino weather conditions, which will make for smoother harvesting and crushing operations than we experienced last year.

“We’re also seeing strong global sugar prices of around $800/tonne – something we haven’t seen in decades.”

Mr McLeod said Wilmar Sugar had invested $200 million in its sugar milling assets this year to underpin reliability and performance.

“We’ve carried out a massive capital and maintenance works program in much shorter timeframe than usual, due to the late finish to the 2022 season.

“Our people have done an excellent job of delivering these major projects in time for the start of the 2023 season.”

Invicta Mill Production Superintendent James Wallace said there was a lot of excitement and anticipation around the start of every new season.

“The team’s excited about all the effort we’ve put in during the maintenance season to get the factory ready to go and we’re really looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds.”

Wilmar’s Plane Creek Mill at Sarina will start the season on 12 June, with Proserpine Mill to follow on 13 June.

The Herbert mills will kick off on 19 June.