Growers are preparing for harvest after overtaking Thailand as the second biggest raw sugar exporter in the world.

Around 29.5 million tonnes of sugarcane is expected to be harvested when sugar mills fire up in June.

That crop will make around four million tonnes of raw sugar – 85 percent of which will be exported.

Rural reporter Sophie Clarke caught up with Canegrowers Chairman Paul Schembri to hear more about the positive news, after a challenging year.