To gauge the source of improvements in sugar yield in the next few years, the performance of clones currently undergoing evaluation in advanced-stage breeding trials was assessed. Relative variation among clones in cane yield and CCS were compared for plant,first ratoon, and second ratoon crops in final assessment trials conducted by BSES Ltd. planted between (and including) 1999 and 2001. These trials included between 20 and 100 experimental clones and three or more cultivars grown commercially in the area where the trial was conducted. Data were obtained from the middle two rows of two replicate four row 10 m plots of each experimental clone. Only clones common to four or more trials were included in the analysis presented here to reduce the influence of experimental error effects or unusual genotype environment interaction effects. The CCS and cane yield of each clone in each trial was first expressed as a percentage of the standard cultivars included in each trial, and an average percentage across all trials and crops was determined for each of the 999 clones examined (Fig. 3).Variation among clones was higher for cane yield than CCS, and a small negative association between cane yield and CCS is apparent (Fig. 3). The highest clone means that for CCS are about 107% of the mean of the standard varieties, and only 17 clones had CCS values more than 105% of the mean of the standard varieties. By contrast, a greater range in values was observed for cane yield, and there were 48 clones with a cane yield greater than 112% of the mean of the standard clones. Despite the economic importance of CCS, selection of clones based solely on economic value would thus mostly include clones with higher cane yields than the average of the standard varieties but with similar or lower CCS. These results suggest that commercially attractive clones, currently being generated from breeding programs, continue to arise more via gains in cane yield than improvements in CCS. This is consistent with the trends observed in the comparative studies of historical cultivars, and suggests the past trend of improvements in cane yield associated with little or no improvements in CCS (Figs. 1–3) will tend to continue at least into the near future.