Greek company not selling sugar factories in Serbia – Production of 200,000 tons of sugar planned in 2017

Withdrawing from the Serbian market and selling sugar factories in Crvenka and Zabalj is not the priority of the Greek company Hellenic Sugar at the moment. The company notified the public of these intentions more than two months ago by reporting that they were looking for a strong strategic partner.

– We have decided to take the Greek Government's advice that profitable companies, whose success acts as a stimulation to the development of Greek economy, shouldn't be sold – stated Christos Alexopoulos, spokesman of Hellenic Sugar, which has ten sugar beet processing factories in Greece.

– Our plans are now oriented towards becoming one of the two biggest sugar producers in the Balkans. The plan is to process sugar beet on 24,000 hectares and produce 200,000 tons of sugar this year, which would lead to a a growth of net profit higher than EUR 21 million.

According to him, the campaign of processing sugar beet from last year's yields at the sugar factories in Crvenka and Zabalj is close to completion.

– We have doubled the production of sugar beet in Serbia and invested considerable assets in the education of farmers in the past two years, so we've had unprecedented yields of 70 tons per hectare. In the coming period, we plan to give incentives to agriculturists so as to make sowing sugar beet a lucrative and secure business – Alexopoulos stated.

The total turnover of Hellenic Sugar in Serbia in 2016 amounted to EUR 105 million, and the estimate is that the net profit will amount to more than EUR 15 million.

– Serbia is the largest producer and the sole exporter of sugar in the Balkans, and all Balkan countries, including Greece, but also a wider area, above all Italy, import sugar in the amounts exceeding the current production in Serbia to a considerable extent – Alexopoulos said.

Crvenka fabrika šećera a.d. Crvenka

Šećerana a.d. Šajkaška Žabalj

Hellenic Sugar Industry Thessaloniki Greece

Hellenic Sugar

sugar factory in Crvenka

sugar factory in Zabalj

processing sugar beet

sugar beet

Christos Alexopoulos

production of sugar