The government of Romania will mandate the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture to begin negotiations for keeping alive the sugar factory owned by the French group Tereos in Ludus, according to an official document consulted by Profit.ro.

Keeping the factory operational is needed to provide a minimum of 25% of Romania’s consumption of sugar from domestic sources at a time when the sugar imports from Ukraine are affected by the war. Currently, the only sugar factories in Romania are those operated by the Austrian Agrana group in Roman, Neamț County, where sugar beet is processed, and in Buzău, where raw cane sugar is processed.

At the beginning of the year, industrial group Tereos, the largest sugar producer in France and the second-largest producer in the world, confirmed that it is considering giving up its business in Romania, which reported large losses in recent years.

In the context of the abolition of sugar production quotas, on October 1, 2017, several sugar factories were closed, both in the Member States of the European Union and at the national level.

At the same time, in Romania, the area cultivated with sugar beet decreased after eliminating sugar production quotas. Thus, out of the 4 producers that operated until 2017, two have already closed.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Kosal Hor/Dreamstime.com)