SUNRICE has announced it will be cutting a further 32 jobs from its Leeton and Deniliquin milling operations.
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The company is blaming its low crop this year of 54,000 tonnes, which was the second lowest on record.
The changes are part of a broader programme announced in November 2018, which followed a review of SunRice's operational footprint.
The job losses will take effect from November 15 and also impact Australian Grain Storage sites across the Riverina.
The full-time positions will go from milling, packing, maintenance, paddy and warehousing operations.
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This takes the total number of employees affected by the reconfiguration to approximately 130 full-time employees since the first announcement in November 2last year.
The company said it understands this was a difficult time and its priority throughout the process moving forward, is the welfare of its people.
SunRice has confirmed it will work with employees to re-deploy where possible, to limit the number of people who leave the business.
"Unfortunately the drought, low general security water allocations and high temporary water prices continue to negatively impact annual irrigated industries, including the rice industry, in the Riverina region of NSW," SunRice chief executive officer Rob Gordon said.
"While (the) changes relate to the milling of the low C19 crop, harvested earlier in 2019, we remain concerned about the ongoing impact of the low water availability and high prices ahead of planting of the C20 crop later this year.
"Despite that, SunRice has been pleased with the response from rice growers to our record contracts offered in August 2019.
"These fixed price contracts were designed to replenish paddy and seed stocks, underpin SunRice's Riverina milling program and assist SunRice in meeting premium demand in markets.
"Given the interest we have received, SunRice expects to receive a volume of rice which will allow some form of milling to continue at its operations in Deniliquin and Leeton through 2020."
Those prices refer to record fixed paddy price contracts for C20 of $750 per tonne for Medium Grain Reiziq, $950 per tonne for Koshihikari and up to $1500 per tonne for organic paddy.
SunRice will also carry over rice from the C19 crop harvested earlier this year.
"We will have greater clarity on the expected C20 crop after the conclusion of planting later in 2019," Mr Gordon said.
Unfortunately the drought, low general security water allocations and high temporary water prices continue to negatively impact annual irrigated industries, including the rice industry, in the Riverina region of NSW.
- SunRice CEO Rob Gordon
"We understand these changes have been, and continue to be very unsettling for our employees, and we continue to remain committed to being open and transparent.
"When water is available at affordable prices, the rice industry is the powerhouse of the Riverina - directly contributing more than $400 million per annum in years of historically normal production."
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