Astarta completed the 2023 sugar production season.
The сompany’s five sugar mills processed 2.7mt of sugar beets grown in-house and by third-party farmers and produced 377kt of white sugar.
The 2023 processing season lasted 130 days and was the best in terms of sugar output for the past five years.
Late crop harvesting for 2023 also complete.
The сompany’s agricultural subsidiaries harvested 200kt of corn, yielding 10.35 t/ha (+16.2% y-o-y) and 2.2mt of sugar beet, yielding 57.61 t/ha (+2.6% y-o-y).
The harvesting period lasted longer than in previous years due to several factors. Difficult weather conditions – heavy and prolonged precipitation in October-November 2023 led to delay in harvesting and logistical difficulties in delivering raw materials to processing plants. This, in turn, affected stability of operations for some sugar plants. At the same time, late crops yields of corn and sugar beets were the highest in the history of Astarta.
Preparations are underway for spring plating in 2024.