by Sybille de La Hamaide
PARIS (Reuters) – Tereos, France’s leading producer of sugar and ethanol, unveiled on Wednesday a reorganization plan providing for the closure of its sugar activities at its factory in Escaudoeuvres, in the North, which would lead to 123 job cuts.
The company, which is facing a sharp drop in sugar beet production and had indicated last year that it was not ruling out closing a sugar factory in France, is also considering closing its distillery in Morains and is looking for a buyer for its potato starch factory in Haussimont, both located in Marne.
Rising prices helped Tereos post better third-quarter results, released last month, but the group is still looking to reduce its debt, which is expected to continue rising this season.
“The profitability of beet cultivation is certainly improving at Tereos, but the cooperative members are facing regulatory (legislative, health, environmental) and economic constraints which result in a lasting reduction in sowing”, declared Tereos. in a press release.
The area under sugar beet crops is expected to fall to its lowest level in France for 14 years this year. Farmers fear the damage that restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides could cause to crops, the head of beet growers group CGB told Reuters last month.
The French government announced in January that there would no longer be a derogation for the use in France of these insecticides on beet seeds, in accordance with a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
(Report by Sybille de La Hamaide and Pascal Rossignol, Victor Goury-Laffont)
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