Mystery investor offers beleaguered Mossman sugar mill a last-minute lifeline

Mossman Sugar Mill is one of the biggest employers in the small town north of Cairns. (Supplied: Far Northern Milling)

An 11th-hour bid from a mystery investor could save a historic Queensland sugar mill from closure.

The future of the 127-year-old Mossman Sugar Mill in the state’s far north has been under a cloud since November 2023, when it was placed into voluntary administration.

A creditors’ meeting was held in Cairns yesterday to decide whether to liquidate when news of a potential anonymous buyer came through.

It came after Queensland Premier Steven Miles announced a $12 million sweetener to support the community.

On Wednesday, Mossman residents had confronted Premier Steven Miles, pleading for financial help to save the 127-year-old mill.

Cane farmer and Australian Cane Farmers Association representative Jack Murday, who attended Thursday’s creditors’ meeting, said it was a relief for the whole community.

“[It] is a great outcome for all involved,” Mr Murday said.

“It has been a roller coaster of emotion and the thought of going into liquidation, not having somewhere to send this year’s crop, was not a good outcome.”

Rollercoaster ride

Mossman Sugar Mill is one of the biggest employers in the small town north of Cairns.

It has had a tumultuous ride over the past few years despite a $45 million taxpayer handout.

In 2018, more than 100 sugarcane growers formed a cooperative and bought Mossman Sugar Mill from Mackay Sugar, becoming the first local group in Australia to buy back a sugar mill.

The joint Queensland and federal government funding was meant to guarantee its future as it transitioned from raw sugar production to a bio-precinct making food ingredients, alcohol, green chemicals and fertilisers.

But by late 2023, parent company Daintree Bio Precinct appointed a voluntary administrator due to “financial distress”.

Financial lifeline

The Queensland government’s latest $12 million relief package was aimed at attracting a viable buyer to take the mill over or, if one could not be found, instead be used to help the Mossman workforce transition away from the sugar industry.

Mr Murday said the government funding would not have been enough for a recovery package if the mill closed.

“[The] announcement of funding not directly to the mill, but indirect funding, probably helped get us over the line,” he said.

“Hopefully, we aren’t reliant on government anymore because that’s not sustainable for anyone.”

The sale is not yet confirmed as due diligence is still required by both the investor and the Queensland government.

It is understood energy company Clever Power has been providing technical advice to the investor.

The company, which specialises in energy conversion plant design, construction and ongoing management, is not proposing to invest in the mill or to buy the assets itself.

Mr Murday said the investor planned to spend the next four years getting sugar production back up to viable levels and then look to establish biofuel capabilities.

He said in the past, the region had produced up to 600,000 tonnes of cane.

“This is the first year in many years that the mill and growers will be able to capitalise on a good sugar price, which that alone improves the viability of the mill significantly,” he said.

“With these prices and with certainty there, there’s no reason why growers won’t go out and increase their planting and increase their yields.”