Inside El Nino – Australian sugarcane at risk

As part of CGTN's special series Inside El Niño, this report turns to Australia's sugarcane heartland in Far North Queensland, where growers are preparing for a possible super El Niño that could deliver much hotter temperatures and prolonged dry conditions across the world's driest inhabited continent. In the Burdekin region, the country's sugarcane capital, water is already a critical and costly input for irrigation, and extended drought would sharply raise expenses while threatening yields on farms that form the economic backbone of many regional communities. With about 80 percent of Australia's sugar exported and the remainder supplying domestic food and beverage producers, the industry faces added pressure from recent rises in diesel and fertiliser costs alongside a roughly 30 percent drop in global sugar prices due to oversupply. The combination leaves many growers struggling as production costs outpace returns, raising concerns not only for the next harvest but for the long-term viability of an export sector that also plays a growing role in global food and fuel security.