SunRice’s Deniliqiun mill is facing operational changes due to water price insecurity.
SunRice has slashed production at its Riverina milling operations, with the company and a local MP both pointing to the same cause.
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Not enough water, at too high a price.
SunRice confirmed this week it is cutting shifts at its Deniliquin and Leeton mills.
Independent Member for Murray Helen Dalton said the Deniliquin mill had been reduced to one eight-hour shift a day, five-days-a-week, while Leeton has dropped from a 24-hour, seven-day schedule to just 16 hours, five days a week.
SunRice Group chief executive officer Paul Serra said the changes were in response to water policy.
“SunRice Group has announced changes to its current Riverina milling operations in response to a sustained reduction in rice supply, driven by ongoing dry conditions and current water policy settings.”
The company has started consultation with employees on the proposed workforce impacts across Deniliquin, Leeton and its Australian Grain Storage operations, though it has not specified how many jobs are at risk.
“We acknowledge the significance of this announcement for our people and the local communities,” Mr Serra said.
“Our focus is on retaining as many employees as possible, including exploring redeployment opportunities where feasible.”
SunRice Group CEO Paul Serra said operational changes were a result of reduction in rice supply, caused by sustained dry conditions.
In a typical production year, SunRice employs more than 650 skilled workers, supports around 500 local rice growers, and injects close to $500 million into basin communities through wages and payments to growers, suppliers and contractors.
“We continue to advocate to government on the adverse impacts of water policy settings on the Riverina rice industry, while closely monitoring seasonal conditions and crop outlook,” Mr Serra said.
The cuts are the latest in a pattern SunRice itself has sounded the alarm on.
In a submission to the 2026 Murray-Darling Basin Plan review, the company describes its own operations as “a practical case study” of how water policy translates into job losses and reduced manufacturing capacity.
The submission points to the permanent closure of its Coleambally mill and a 2019 restructure due to water insecurity, which affected about 100 jobs across both the Deniliquin and Leeton mills, as well as its Australian Grain Storage operations.
SunRice argues that once water prices climb above roughly $150 to $200 a megalitre, rice becomes uneconomic to grow and process in Australia.
Federal modelling cited in the submission found a further 450 gigalitres of buybacks would push allocation prices above $200 a megalitre in eight years out of 10, squarely inside the danger zone SunRice has identified.
The company also revealed that of the 189.6 gigalitres already purchased under the Commonwealth’s buyback program, 80.9Gl, about 43 per cent, has come from the Murray and Murrumbidgee general security entitlements, the same water rights rice growers depend on.
The submission calls for a halt to further water recovery until the social and economic impact of buybacks is properly assessed, arguing the current review has so far failed to examine those impacts in any detail.
Ms Dalton has blamed state and Federal Governments directly for the cuts, calling for a federal royal commission into water.
“The NSW Government and the Federal Government are absolutely to blame for this loss of work and loss of food production in the Riverina,” she said.
A Federal Government spokesperson told Country News the announcement was “concerning for its workers, their families and impacted communities.”
“You can’t have sustainable communities without a sustainable environment,” the spokesperson said.
“The Albanese Government remains committed to delivering the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, safeguarding a sustainable future for basin communities, and supporting long-term agricultural productivity.”
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