Sunshine Sugar Crush Passes Half-Million-Tonne Milestone
The 2026 Northern Rivers crushing season has reached a significant milestone, with Sunshine Sugar’s three mills processing more than 500,000 tonnes of cane as weekly CCS strengthens above 12.
The 2026 Sunshine Sugar crushing season has passed the half-million-tonne milestone, with the Harwood, Broadwater and Condong mills collectively processing 501,400 tonnes of sugar cane by the week ending 30 August 2026.
Sunshine Sugar’s latest Crushing Season Update shows another 64,797 tonnes were processed during the week, while the combined weekly Commercial Cane Sugar (CCS) result reached 12.05.
The season-to-date combined CCS now stands at 11.30, while the three mills recorded a combined weekly crushing rate of 176 tonnes per hour and a year-to-date rate of 174 tonnes per hour.
The figures represent an important milestone for the Northern Rivers sugar industry after crushing commenced at the three mills in late June.
Harwood Passes 200,000 Tonnes
Harwood continues to lead Sunshine Sugar’s three mills by cumulative tonnage.
The mill processed 25,349 tonnes during the latest week, taking its season total to 202,489 tonnes and making Harwood the first of the three mills to move beyond 200,000 tonnes for the season.
Cane quality also remained strong, with Harwood recording a weekly CCS of 12.30 and a season-to-date average of 11.57.
The mill operated at 170 tonnes per hour during the week, compared with its year-to-date average of 172 tonnes per hour.
Harwood commenced its 2026 crushing season on 23 June.
Broadwater Maintains Fastest Crushing Rate
Broadwater delivered another strong throughput result, processing 24,545 tonnes during the week and lifting its cumulative crush to 144,837 tonnes.
The mill again recorded the fastest processing rate of the three operations at 193 tonnes per hour, with its season average remaining even higher at 194 tonnes per hour.
Broadwater’s weekly CCS reached 11.62, while its season-to-date CCS stood at 10.89.
The lower season-average CCS at Broadwater reflects the exceptionally wet conditions experienced during the harvesting season, which can dilute sugar concentration in harvested cane. Importantly, the latest weekly figure of 11.62 indicates considerably stronger sugar content than some of the readings recorded earlier in the season.
Broadwater commenced crushing on 25 June.
Condong Records Highest Weekly CCS
While Condong processed the smallest volume during the week, it achieved the highest weekly CCS of Sunshine Sugar’s three mills.
Condong crushed 14,923 tonnes, bringing its year-to-date total to 154,074 tonnes.
Its weekly CCS reached 12.33, narrowly exceeding Harwood’s 12.30, while Condong’s season average stood at 11.33.
The mill recorded a weekly crushing rate of 164 tonnes per hour, slightly above its year-to-date average of 160 tonnes per hour.
Condong was the first of Sunshine Sugar’s three mills to commence the 2026 season, beginning crushing on 22 June.
CCS Strengthens as Season Progresses
CCS remains one of the industry’s most important measurements because it indicates the amount of recoverable commercial sugar in delivered cane. Higher CCS generally means more sugar can be recovered from each tonne processed.
For the week ending 30 August, all three mills recorded weekly CCS readings above 11.6, while both Harwood and Condong exceeded 12.3.
The combined weekly CCS of 12.05 was also comfortably above the season-to-date average of 11.30, indicating that cane processed during the latest reporting period contained stronger sugar levels than the season average.
With 501,400 tonnes now processed, Sunshine Sugar’s 2026 crushing campaign has crossed a significant production threshold.
Harwood accounts for 202,489 tonnes of the season total, followed by Condong with 154,074 tonnes and Broadwater with 144,837 tonnes.
Attention will now remain on harvesting conditions, cane quality, CCS and mill throughput as the Northern Rivers crushing season moves further into spring.
