Austria's Agrana to acquire Sunoko

The Commission for Protection of Competition of Serbia has approved the acquisition of Novi Sad's Sunoko by Austria's Agrana, which now owns several sugar factories in Serbia.

As reported by the Commission, it has been estimated that the ownership concentration will not lead to considerable changes in the structure of the sugar beet production, collection and processing and sugar production and wholesale market in Serbia.

Agrana deals in sugar wholesale in Serbia, but only in very small amounts.

The Commission for Protection of Competition reminds that, in August 2016, it gave a conditional approval to Sunoko to take over the sugar factory in Senta, which was owned by the Italian company Star, and obliged it to file regular reports on changes in production and sales, as well as the price of sugar, and said that the measures would remain in effect.

Agrana is the regional leader in sugar production, and is a member of the biggest producer of sugar in Europe, Germany's Suedzucker. It operates in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Until now, it had less than 1% of the market share in sugar sales.

Sunoko belongs to MK Group, owned by Miodrag Kostic, and has another three factories in Serbia, in addition to the one in Senta – in Vrbas, Pecinci and Kovacica, and is the biggest local producer and exporter of sugar.

MK Group reported last year that it had signed a preliminary agreement on the strategic partnership with Agrana and said that radical reform measures would be carried out in the sugar industry in EU in 2017, as quotas would be abolished.

– This will lead to considerable changes and only the most productive European producers will stand a chance. This is why Sunoko sees its future under the biggest producer in Europe – MK Group said at the time and estimated that the partnership would benefit sugar beet producers in Europe as the latest knowledge would be made available, thereby enabling an increase in yields.

Sunoko d.o.o. Novi Sad

AGRANA GRUPPE Wien

Komisija za zaštitu konkurencije Srbije

MK Group d.o.o. Beograd

Sunoko

Agrana

sugar factories in Serbia

Commission for Protection of Competition of Serbia

Commission for Protection of Competition

sugar factory Senta

Suedzucker

MK Group

Miodrag Kostic

sugar factory Serbia

sugar factory

sale of Sunoko

Sunoko aquisition