Our Australian ownership is a proud partnership between the grower-owned NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative and the Australian family-owned business, Manildra Group.

The NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative is comprised of some 500 cane farming families in the Northern Rivers region of the state. The Manildra Group is an international agribusiness owned and operated by the Honan family in NSW.

Sunshine Sugar owns and operates sugar mills at Harwood, Broadwater and Condong and a refinery co-located at Harwood.

Watch the NSW Sugar Industry Video

This 10-minute documentary-style video gives you a comprehensive overview of the history, structure, and importance of the NSW sugar industry.

Take our 360⁰ Paddock to Pack Tour

If you have your own VR headset, connect to our 6-minute immersive experience and follow the process of sugar production from the growing of sugar cane through to milling, refining, packing and transportation.

View VR video

History

 Sugar production has been a major industry in the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed Valleys for over 150 years, with the Harwood Mill being the longest continuously running sugar mill in Australia.

Follow some highlights in our timeline below.

Timeline

1864

Sugarcane first grown in Northern NSW

1867

Clarence River Sugar Growers Association formed

1874
harwood mill 1908

Harwood Sugar Mill on the Clarence River commenced operation

1880
Condong Mill

Condong Sugar Mill on the Tweed River commenced operation

1881
Broadwater 1895

Broadwater Sugar Mill on the Richmond River commenced operation

1892

Tweed Cane Growers Association formed NSW Sugar

1907

Australian Sugar Producers Association Limited formed to represent growers and mills

1925

Richmond River Cane Growers Association formed

1954
cane punt

First bulk shipment of raw sugar in Australia leaves Broadwater and Harwood Mills. Mechanical loading of sugar onto ships at Harwood – the first in the Southern hemisphere

1978
NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative was formed as first multi-sugar mill co-operative in Australia

NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative was formed as first multi-sugar mill co-operative in Australia

1989
refinery

NSW Sugar formed partnership with Manildra to commence refining white sugar under the company Manildra Harwood Sugars

1992

GPS technology fitted to cane trucks to automate cane receivals from farms to mills

2005
cogeneration

NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative and Delta Electricity formed a joint venture company Sunshine Electricity and opened cogeneration plants at Condong and Broadwater mills

2012
Bonsucro Off Product

Sunshine Sugar awarded international Bonsucro certification across farming, milling and refining operations

2013

Cape Byron Power acquires Broadwater and Condong biomass power stations

2015

NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative Ltd and Manildra Group merged on a 50/50 ownership basis

2017
sunshine sugar logo

Sunshine Sugar launches a new retail product brand

2018
low gi sugar

Sunshine Sugar launches Low GI sugar using Australian nucane technology

2019
mercedes trucks

Fleet of new Mercedes trucks with state-of-the-art safety features purchased for cane hauling

2020
State-of-the-art storage and distribution warehouse officially opened

State-of-the-art storage and distribution warehouse officially opened

2021
Aqua Botanical

Botanical water from sugarcane produced at Condong

Mills and Refinery

Condong Sugar Mill

The Condong Sugar Mill sits on the banks of the Tweed River and has been crushing cane since 1880. This mill processes cane grown on some 7,000 hectares of local farmland.

The Condong sugar mill produces Direct Consumption (DC) raw sugar and a unique Low GI sugar that is made in the milling system.

Sugar Industry Australia
BWR Mill

Broadwater Sugar Mill

The Broadwater Sugar Mill sits on the banks of the Richmond River and has been crushing cane since 1881. This mill processes that largest amount of cane grown across a 15,000-hectare local farming footprint.

All of our Mills operate under continuous crushing arrangements (24 hours a day, seven days a week) during the crushing season with a scheduled maintenance day held every 2-3 weeks.

Harwood Sugar Mill

The Harwood Sugar Mill sits on the banks of the Clarence River and is the oldest continuously operating Sugar Mill in Australia and has been crushing cane since 1874. This mill process sugarcane grown on some 10,000 hectares of local cane farming land.

harwood mill
Harwood Sugar Shed

Manildra Harwood Sugar Refinery

The Manildra Harwood Sugar Refinery commenced operations in 1988 when the grower-owned NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative Limited and family-owned Australian agribusiness Manildra Group joined forces to form a partnership to produce.

Warehouse

The Harwood site is also home to a state-of-the-art freight and logistics warehouse. Spanning some 4,000 square metres, this $9m facility was officially opened in 2020.

Warehouse

Due to health, hygiene and safety reasons, we are currently unable to offer tours of these facilities.

Mills and Refinery

Sugar Industry Australia

Condong Sugar Mill

The Condong Sugar Mill sits on the banks of the Tweed River and has been crushing cane since 1880. This mill processes cane grown on some 7,000 hectares of local farmland.

The Condong sugar mill produces Direct Consumption (DC) raw sugar and a unique Low GI sugar that is made in the milling system.

BWR Mill

Broadwater Sugar Mill

The Broadwater Sugar Mill sits on the banks of the Richmond River and has been crushing cane since 1881. This mill processes that largest amount of cane grown across a 15,000-hectare local farming footprint.

All of our Mills operate under continuous crushing arrangements (24 hours a day, seven days a week) during the crushing season with a scheduled maintenance day held every 2-3 weeks.

harwood mill

Harwood Sugar Mill

The Harwood Sugar Mill sits on the banks of the Clarence River and is the oldest continuously operating Sugar Mill in Australia and has been crushing cane since 1874. This mill process sugarcane grown on some 10,000 hectares of local cane farming land.

Harwood Sugar Shed

Manildra Harwood Sugar Refinery

The Manildra Harwood Sugar Refinery commenced operations in 1988 when the grower-owned NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative Limited and family-owned Australian agribusiness Manildra Group joined forces to form a partnership to produce.

Warehouse

Warehouse

The Harwood site is also home to a state-of-the-art freight and logistics warehouse. Spanning some 4,000 square metres, this $9m facility was officially opened in 2020.

Due to health, hygiene and safety reasons, we are currently unable to offer tours of these facilities.

Growers

Grower1
Sugar Cane Australia
Natural Sugar
Natural Sugar
Growers Sunshine Sugar

Our cane growers here in the Northern Rivers are fortunate to have access to the best in soil and water resources for cropping. They also enjoy close proximity to the coast, beautiful natural surroundings and a temperate climate. The six-month on and six-month off season provides an unmatched business and lifestyle balance.

The NSW sugar industry is supported by more than 500 farming families. The farming footprint covers some 34,000 hectares, with up to 2.4 million tonnes of cane harvested each year.

Transport

sunshine sugar hauling trucks
sunshine sugar transport
sunshine sugar transport vehicle
sunshine sugar storage warehouse
sunshine sugar warehouse

Cane hauling in NSW is operated under a contract that finances a fleet of 32 Mercedes Benz trucks and around 100 truck drivers each season. An additional 3 trucks are operated for warehouse transfers and local deliveries.

In addition, we work with over 30 transport companies across the country to deliver our products to over 300 customers across all types of food and beverage manufacturing, as well as retailers and wholesalers.

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