Mackay Sugar has gained access to a 3,244-hectare cattle property in Northern Queensland through an acquisition made by its subsidiary investment company, Racecourse Projects, for an undisclosed amount.

 

The acquisition of the Hylton Park cattle property in the Blue Mountain region, expands Mackay Sugar’s available land base to help the company meet its goal of increasing its throughput to 5.8 million tons per year by 2021.

 

"From Mackay Sugar's viewpoint, this is part of an ongoing effort to increase cane supply," said Jason Lowry, CEO of Mackay Sugar. "We're doing that through two efforts. One is through yield improvements on our existing land and the other is through expansion of our acreage.”

 

Of the total acreage, 900 hectares will be converted to cane production, which will have an expected output of 65,000 tons of cane per year.

 

Launched in 2013, Racecourse Projects, in which Mackay Sugar holds a 14.9% stake, is a united endeavor between Mackay Sugar and the $7.4 billion investment firm and Cargill subsidiary, Black River Asset Management.

 

Both Racecourse and Black River have been actively working to acquire global agricultural assets. The 3,244 hectare Hylton Park property is adjacent to the 1,200 hectare Prospect Creek farm acquired by Racecourse earlier this year, and both purchases come on the heels of Racecourse’s purchase of the Marwood Farm in 2013. While Black River is currently in advanced negotiations to settle the acquisition of two sugar mills in Brazil in a deal that is rumored to be worth $176 million.