by Sybille de La Hamaide
PARIS (Reuters) – French group Tereos, the world’s second-largest sugar producer by volume, said on Thursday it may have to cut capacity and even close one of its factories in France as part of an overhaul. of its strategy, as it anticipates further declines in its sugar beet production.
Tereos, France’s leading sugar producer, had so far always maintained that it would not close factories in France, unlike its competitors Cristal Union and Saint Louis Sucre, which closed some of their facilities in 2020.
“The reality of yesterday is not necessarily the reality of tomorrow,” explained to journalists the director of the group’s activities in Europe, Olivier Leducq, after the presentation of the group’s annual results.
He added that a review was underway and that a drop in production capacity did not necessarily mean the total closure of a factory.
The areas sown by members of Tereos cooperatives for their sugar beet campaigns have decreased by 10% over the past five years, and Olivier Leducq has declared that he anticipates an additional 10% decrease in these areas by 2024.
Sugar beet production in France has fallen steadily since the end of production quotas in the European Union in 2017, as farmers have been discouraged by low prices and, more recently, by diseases that have ravaged crops.
(French version Camille Raynaud)
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