Sugar production in Ukraine in the 2019/2020 marketing year (MY, September-August) decreased by 19% compared to the previous MY, to 1.48 million tonnes. According to the Ukrtsukor National Association of Sugar Producers, in total 33 sugar refineries were operating during the season, which processed 9.84 million tonnes of sugar beets, which is almost a third less than a year earlier.
“As we can see, a significant decrease in the amount of raw materials entailed a reduction in the operation of production capacities and, as a result, a decrease in sugar production in general,” the deputy chairman of the board of the association, Ruslana Yanenko, said.
According to her, such a result is quite predictable, because the global sugar surplus that has been observed over the past three years has also significantly affected the Ukrainian market – a 20% reduction in the area under sugar beets and a decrease in the amount of raw materials.
“In addition to the fact that nine processing plants did not start this year, the production season also decreased by almost a month, and this will certainly affect the cost of sugar production, because a sugar factory must work a minimum of 100 days to cover the launch costs,” she said.
The three leaders in sugar production in Ukraine remained Vinnytsia region with 331,900 tonnes, Khmelnytsky region with 192,800 tonnes, and Ternopil region with 186,400 tonnes.
