Joyce enters sugar marketing impasse
FEDERAL pressure is being put on sugar milling giant Wilmar to come up with a solution to the ongoing sugar marketing stalemate.
About half the cane growers who supply sugar to Wilmar's Proserpine mill have yet to be provided with a true choice on the marketing of their GEI sugar as promised by amendments to the Sugar Act passed late last year.
Member for Dawson George Christensen said a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Wilmar focused on negotiations for an on-supply agreement between Wilmar and QSL.
He said the meeting was constructive and he hoped to see negotiations move forward rapidly.
In standing up for cane growers in the electorate of Dawson Mr Christensen has been a vocal critic of the Singaporean milling giant and warned "that if we don't see action there will be consequences”. He said the Liberal National Government would take a dim view of actions designed to circumvent the law.
"However, Wilmar did assure us that they were moving rapidly toward an on-supply agreement with QSL, as evidenced by the recent breakthroughs in the negotiation process.”
Mr Christensen said the LNP had established a taskforce to determine how growers could achieve real choice.
Resolution to the stoush would allow growers to choose QSL as a marketer.
