Ukrlandfarming, the largest Ukrainian agricultural holding, plans in 2012 to produce 240,000-250,000 tonnes of sugar from this year's harvest beet against 232,000 tonnes in the previous season.
“We plan this year to produce 240,000-250,000 tonnes of sugar,” Chairman of the Ukrlandfarming Board of Directors Oleh Bakhmatiuk said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Company Operating Director Halyna Vasylyk said that two sugar refineries are operating this season, another two refineries, particularly Kremenetsky sugar plant and Zolochevsky sugar plant, are undergoing audits. She said the audits would take 6-8 months, and afterwards the investment and raw materials necessary for the efficient operation of the enterprises would be determined. Vasylyk stressed that it was important for the company to produce sugar from its own beets.
Bakhmatiuk did not rule out that the company would not invest in the modernization of these plants if the situation on the sugar market does not change.
“If tomorrow the price is the same as it is now, we will not allocate funds for modernization, as it wouldn’t be reasonable. We are an economically justified company,” he said.
According to him, at present the Ukrainian sugar market is “in a terrible state.”
“The domestic consumption of Ukrainian sugar will not exceed 2 million tonnes, and the possibility of producing 5-6 million tonnes it leads to intense competition and low prices that are below cost,” he said.
