French sugar beet producers said on Tuesday May 7 that they would make an offer to Suedzucker next week to acquire two French sugar mills, which the German group plans to stop next year.
The increase in sugar production after the European Union abolished production quotas in 2017 and the 40% fall in prices on the sugar-saturated world market since the beginning of 2017 made many EU companies experience difficulties in falling profits.
The crisis prompted Suedzucker, the largest sugar factory in the EU, to announce a plan to reduce capacity by 700,000 tons and close five sugar plants to save about 100 million euros ($ 112 million) per year.
In France, Suedzucker intends to halt sugar production at two plants operated by its St. Louis Sucre branch in Eppeville in the north and in Chagny in Normandy. These two sites will focus on storage, with additional feed for the animals at Cagny.
The French group of sugar beet producers CGB has developed a plan through which a farmer cooperative with regional financial support could buy both of these plants, said Benoit Carton, regional head of CGB in Normandy, during a protest in front of the German embassy in Paris.
The CGB will present its plan to banks in France on Friday May 10 and the German Suedzucker group on May 15 at a meeting in Strasbourg. “To move forward, you have to turn to the highest levels of government. Political pressure is very important for us, ”said Patrick Decofour, Regional Head of CGB.
