Qld: Reform to survive, sugar industry report says

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Qld: Reform to survive, sugar industry report says

By Rosemary Desmond

BRISBANE, Jan 21 AAP - The sugar industry would have to carry out major reforms ifit was to survive, a key report released today said.

But it stopped short of recommending all-out deregulation.

Canegrowers, the peak industry group representing Queensland's 6,000 sugar farmers,commissioned the report by the US-based Boston Consulting Group.

General manager of Canegrowers Ian Ballantyne said today the study found an increasein returns across the industry equivalent to $1,000 per hectare was needed to bring theindustry back to its 1998 levels, the last year when …