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Kalamia Mill employees watch the last bins go through the tippler for the 2026 season. Group Manager Mechanical Reliability Elliott Favale, Operations Superintendent Matt O’Shea, Operations Manager Jessica Wilson and Operations Engineer Katherine Wang. Photo supplied
Kalamia Mill has beaten every other Australian sugar mill to the finish line for the second straight year, crushing its final cane on Friday night. Inkerman Mill followed close behind on Saturday as dry weather and strong factory performance helped the Burdekin mills wrap up early.
Wilmar Sugar and Renewables’ Kalamia Mill has claimed line honours for the second year running.
The Burdekin factory crushed out on Friday night, making it the first in the Australian sugar industry to finish the 2026 season. Kalamia also finished first last year.
The last bins of cane were tipped at Kalamia Mill just after 10pm Friday (16 October). Wilmar’s Inkerman Mill – also in the Burdekin – was a close second, crushing out late Saturday night (17 October).
General Manager Operations James Wallace said dry weather, good harvesting conditions and strong factory performance had helped deliver an early finish to the crush.
“We had another good year at Kalamia Mill in terms of factory performance, and we also lost very little time to wet weather. That allowed the field sector to make good headway with the harvest and get through the crop.”
Three more of Wilmar’s eight raw sugar factories are expected to finish this week: Pioneer and Invicta mills in the Burdekin, and Proserpine Mill in the Whitsunday region.
Plane Creek Mill at Sarina is expected to finish in the first week of November. Victoria and Macknade mills in the Herbert region are expected to finish in mid-November. Mr Wallace said the business expected to process a total of 13.74 million tonnes of cane this year. He said the crop was down on earlier expectations, but sugar content was high.
“The CCS – or commercial cane sugar – has been tracking above budget across all of Wilmar’s milling regions throughout the season. We’re seeing CCS averages in the 14s and 15s, which is pleasing,” he said.
Mr Wallace said the key focus was on safely wrapping up the final weeks of the season.
There are currently 21 operational sugar mills in Queensland and New South Wales. Wilmar Sugar and Renewables owns eight of these factories, located in Ingham, the Burdekin, Proserpine and Sarina.
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