| RAIN BOOSTS CENTRAL QUEENSLAND SUGAR CANE CROP | |
| Good rains of one to four inches in the | |
| past 10 days have boosted moisture-stressed sugar cane crops in | |
| the Mackay-Burdekin region of Queensland's central coast, an | |
| Australian Sugar Producers' Association spokesman said. | |
| As previously reported, the region has been undergoing a | |
| severe dry spell, partly relieved by scattered rainfall, since | |
| December, following the virtual failure of the summer wet | |
| season. | |
| Mills in the area have been reporting that their crops are | |
| beginning to look healthy and greener and are putting on growth | |
| since the rains began, the spokesman said from Brisbane. | |
| Although the Mackay-Burdekin crop outlook is much better | |
| than it was, there will be some cane losses, the spokesman | |
| said. But is too early to say what they will be and more rain | |
| is needed to restore sub-soil moisture. | |
| Elsewhere, in far north Queensland, the Bundaberg region | |
| and southern Queensland, the cane is in excellent condition and | |
| some mills are forecasting record crops, he said. | |
| Initial 1987 crop estimates will probably be compiled | |
| towards the end of May, he said. | |
| The cane crush normally runs from June to December. | |