Cristal Union, a French sugar producer, said Thursday on April 18 that its profitability was negative last year and plans to close two factories in France amid the expected global surplus of sugar.
The closures that will take place next year are the last sign of a restructuring in the sugar industry in Europe after the cessation of production and export quotas in the EU in 2017, which prompted many manufacturers to increase production volumes at the time of falling prices due to high world stocks.
“We realized that there was too much sugarcane and sugar beets on Earth to produce the sugar that the world needed,” said Alain Commissaire, executive director of France’s second largest sugar producer.
“The closure was also due to the poor financial results of the group last year due to a drop in sugar beet harvest and historically low sugar prices. Cristal Union recorded a loss of € 99 million ($ 111 million) between 2018/19 and January 31, compared with a net profit of € 135 million the previous year, ”continued the Executive Director.
Cristal Union plans to close its sugar factory in Bourdon, central France, which produces 40,000 tons of sugar per year, and stop production in Tours, southwest of Paris, producing 65,000 tons of sugar per year.
