Mossman's 2013 crushing season ended on Friday, with this year's crop the largest the town's mill has handled for a number of years.

Approximately 7,580 hectares of sugarcane were harvested this year, almost 400 ha more than 2012. Just over 587,000 tonnes were crushed this year in total, compared to 2012's 508,867 tonnes.

“This year’s crop was cut above estimate; we had estimated the crop at 575,000t of cane prior to the start of the crush," said Mackay Sugar’s Mossman Mill Manager Haydn Slattery.

“An average of 77.5t of cane harvested per hectare was achieved, which was an increase of 14 per cent on last year’s result of 71.6t.

“The mill operated reasonably well, crushing 27,000t of cane over most weeks and operating at its target crush rate of 297t per hour,” Mr Slattery said.

Mossman Mill’s 2013 season was extended by one week this year due to wet weather events and unplanned stoppages.

Mackay Sugar will soon undertake a $4.5 million upgrade on the mill’s boilers and milling trains in preparation for next year’s crop, which will see the mill process more than 1 million tonnes of cane.