IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russian plant sees rising beet sugar output

Reuters

MOSCOW, June 23 (Reuters) - Tbilissky Sugar Plant, a leading Russian processor majority owned by French merchant Sucden, will raise beet sugar output at least 25 percent this year as Russia sows more land to the crop, a top plant official said on Friday.

Tbilissky General Director Mikhail Moskalyov said the plant was likely to produce about 50,000 tonnes of beet sugar this year and to process less from imported raws.

"Production from raw sugar is declining and production from our own means will increase. This is already evident," Moskalyov told Reuters by telephone.

He said Tbilissky, located in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, would produce about 60,000 tonnes of sugar from imported raws this year, about 25,000 tonnes less than last year.

Russia is the world's largest importer of raw sugar. World prices hit a 25-year peak earlier this year as top grower Brazil used more cane to produce ethanol for fuel use and as stocks fell, demand rose and funds invested in the sweetener.

Russia, which last year produced only 45 percent of the sugar it consumed, is increasing the area sown to sugar beet as leading companies such as Rusagro, Prodimex Holding and Razgulay invest in upgrading facilities.

Russia had sown 925,000 hectares to sugar beet by June 1, 17.5 percent more than in the same period a year ago, data from the Federal Statistics Service released on Thursday showed.

"The area sown with sugar beet in the Krasnodar region alone is significantly higher than last year, by about 20,000 hectares," Moskalyov said.

The Tbilissky plant won an award at a sugar forum in Moscow in May for the low volume of sugar losses and high fuel efficiency in the refining process.

Russia refined 1.55 million tonnes of white sugar from imported raws from the start of the year to June 21, down 10 percent year-on-year, the Russian Sugar Producers' Union said.

Data from Russia's Institute for Agricultural Studies showed Russia's raw sugar imports fell nearly 50 percent year-on-year in May.

In June, raw sugar imports were forecast by the institute at just short of 500,000 tonnes, down from 636,600 tonnes a year ago. But imports are seen picking up in July as the decline in previous months has created a shortage.

29.06.06

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