PARIS (Reuters) – Tereos, France’s leading producer of sugar and ethanol, has agreed to sell Belgian fries maker Agristo its industrial site in Escaudoeuvres, in northern France, the French ministry in charge of the environment announced on Monday. ‘Industry.
Agristo plans to invest around 350 million euros to develop a new processing plant for potato products to replace the existing sugar factory, said the services of Industry Minister Roland Lescure, who will assist in the day at a signing ceremony.
The sale price of the site was not disclosed.
Tereos announced in March a reorganization project providing for the closure of its sugar activities in its Escaudoeuvres factory, resulting in 123 job cuts.
The announcement of the sugar factory’s closure sparked an outcry among unions, which blocked some 40,000 tonnes of sugar inside the factory for weeks.
Tereos attributed the closure of this factory to a sharp drop in local sugar beet production.
Soaring sugar prices helped Tereos, one of the world’s largest sugar producers by volume thanks to its significant operations in Brazil, post record profit in 2022/23, but high debts prompted the group to sell assets around the world.
The company will maintain a logistics activity near the sugar site being sold.
Agristo, which could create around 350 jobs at its future French factory, intends to benefit from the proximity of potato production to northern France and logistical access to southern Europe, the ministry explained. in charge of Industry.
(Report Sybille de La Hamaide and Gus Trompiz, French version Kate Entringer)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters