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Конференция «Рынок сахара стран СНГ 2024»
12 апреля, Москва
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→ IKAR in Mass Media → #118 IKAR in Mass MediaCrisis could close Russia sugar refineries - IKAR10 декабря 2008 года MOSCOW, Dec 9 (Reuters) - One-third of Russia's sugar refineries could close in the next two years and 2008 imports of raw cane sugar are likely to drop as the world financial crisis hits production, a leading agricultural analyst said on Tuesday. The Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said many sugar firms in Russia, until recently the world's largest raw sugar importer, had eliminated all bonus and social payments to employees and had started reducing staff and salaries. "Many companies, in their battle to cut costs, have frozen practically all investment projects," IKAR said in its monthly sugar market review. Some Russian refineries, with the sugar beet processing season now finished, had sent their employees on unpaid leave, IKAR said. As a result of the crisis, it estimated about 26 refineries could be closed in 2009 and 2010 while another 20 would have to think about upgrades. Only 38 refineries are "safe", IKAR said. Razgulay, Russia's third-largest sugar producer, is in talks with rivals, including market leader Prodimex Group, about consolidating assets and eliminating inefficient plants, its general director told Reuters on Nov. 19. Russia this year ceded its position of the world's largest raw sugar buyer to the European Union due to EU sugar market reforms and a cut in Russian imports. IKAR said international companies accounted for a larger share of Russian raw sugar imports than previously, as domestic firms had slashed shipments ahead of the introduction this month of a higher seasonal tariff. The new tariff, $220-270 per tonne, will run for six months from December and replaces a previous import tariff of $140. The tariff is pegged to New York sugar prices and will stay at its lowest rate of $220 per tonne in December and January. "Many (Russian) companies have stopped raw sugar imports ahead of the setting of the tariff, or cut volumes dramatically. The share of international companies in imports has risen as a result," IKAR said. SHRINKING RAW SUGAR IMPORTS Russian raw sugar imports could shrink to 80,000 tonnes in December from 170,000 tonnes in November due to the financial crisis and the higher tariff, IKAR said. Official November sugar import data are not yet available. Federal Customs Service data released on Monday showed January-October 2008 raw sugar imports fell to 2.02 million tonnes from 2.70 million tonnes a year ago. As a result, IKAR has slightly revised its forecast for Russian imports in 2008 to 2.45 million tonnes from its previous estimated of 2.43 million. In 2007, imports totalled 3.23 million tonnes. IKAR said it expects white sugar refining from imported raws to decline this year to 2.49 million tonnes from 2.86 million tonnes in 2007. But higher yields from this year's beet crop prompted IKAR to raise its forecast for white sugar refined from domestically grown beet to 3.4 million tonnes, from 3.28 million tonnes previously. The country's main sugar industry lobby, the Russian Sugar Producers Union, expects sugar output from this year's beet crop to be 3.3 million tonnes. In the last few years, Russia has refined more than half of the approximately 5.8 million tonnes of white sugar it consumes annually from domestic beet, producing most of the remainder from imported cane raws and regulating imports by tariffs. Source: Reuters | #sugar | Comments: 0 Views: 76
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