C.S.R. Co.'s Report

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27403, 16 July 1954, Page 15

C.S.R. Co.'s Report

Points from Chairman’s address to Shareholders

• Australian raw sugar industry produces record crop. • C.S.R. Co.’s Mills in Australia and Fiji produce record outputs of raw sugar. • C.S.R. Co.’s sales of sugar products in Australia and N.Z. still below 1952 record. • Sales of C.S.R. building materials higher than last year and future prospects good. In his address to Shareholders of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited, the Chairman (Mr. E. R. Knox) said that Australian raw sugar production of 1,213,000 tons for 1953 was a record. C.S.R.’s 7 Australian Mills contributed a record 235,800 tons to this output, the Company’s proportion of the total Australian production remaining approximately the same as pre-war. (The C.S.R. Co. owns 7 of the 34 Australian raw sugar mills.)

Mr. Knox said that prospects for 1954 in Queensland were good and that the 1953 record may be exceeded; this applies both to the Company’s Mills and to Queensland as a whole. PRODUCTION CONTROLS IN QUEENSLAND The end is in sight, Mr. Knox said, of the phase of planned expansion in the Queensland raw sugar industry. This development was based on the greater post-war home consumption market and the increased export market available as fc. result primarily of the British Commonwealth Sugar Agreement, now confirmed by the International Sugar Agreement. Starting with the 1955 season, it seems certain that each mill and its growers will have to control output to the peak or quota assigned to them. The £5,000,000 expansion programme of the Company’s Queensland Mills has been designed to provide adequate, but not excessive capacity for the quotas assigned to the Company. FIJI Our five mills in Fiji made 190,000 tons of raw sugar in the 1953 season, the highest output yet reached in the Colony. However, the cane was less sweet than usual and the season was prolonged. The export quota for Fiji under the sugar agreements is 170,000 tons, and it is gratifying that the efforts of the cane growers and the Company to reach the quota have met with success. The increase comes mainly from the additional acreage, but it was helped last season by very good growing conditions.

Although the Colony had a five months drought, probably the longest in its history, the estimated production for the coming season is 167,000 tons. New and better varieties of cane, bred by our Company, are going into cultivation, so with normal growing conditions Fiji should be able to maintain its export quota. The five mills there have sufficient capacity for this. REFINED SUGAR IN AUSTRALIA For the year ended 31st March, 1954, sales from our Australian refineries were 460,000 tons compared with 439,000 tons in the previous year and 534,000 tons in 1952. We are continuing with the programme of expansion of all our re fineries in order to keep a prudent margin of capacity over demand. NEW ZEALAND Total sales from our refinery at Auckland for the year were 96,000 tons, an increase of 15% over the previous year and 23% over the pre-war level. This recovery restores sales to a figure more in line with our expectation of sugar consumption per capita. Expenditure on new r equipment continues at the Auckland Refinery. / On March 29, the list price for 1A refined sugar in the Auckland district was altered to £NZ 72/7/- per ton, in place of £NZ 73/18/9 previously. Prices in other districts were adjusted accordingly. These prices include excise duty of Id. per lb. (£9/6/8 per ton) levied by the New Zealand Government.

DISTILLERIES An improved supply of molasses, the raw material for our two distilleries, has resulted from the expansion in the raw sugar industry. Demand for industrial alcohol has been well maintained but rum sales are still low. BUILDING MATERIALS DIVISION The value of sales of our building materials was 18% higher than for the previous year.

Copies of the Company’s • Annual Report, including the full text of the Chairman's Address to Shareholders, are available on application to the New Zealand. Branch of the Company, Quay Street, Auckland.

C.S.R. CHEMICALS PTY. LTD. Sales of most chemicals marketed by C.S.R. Chemicals Pty. Ltd., in which this Company has a 60% interest, showed a progressive increase throughout the past twelve months. Sales of cellulose acetate flake, however, have not vet reached expectations.