Ukraine produced 982,000 tonnes of sugar last year / Photo from UNIAN
Ukraine produced 982,000 tonnes of sugar last year.
Sugar production in Ukraine halved in the past five years.
This was reported by the Association Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB).
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"In 2020, some 982,000 tonnes of sugar was produced in Ukraine, which was 34% down on 2019 and half the volume of production five years ago. The causes behind this reduction were a decrease in the production of sugar beets in Ukraine and low prices of sugar in the Ukrainian and foreign markets in previous years," it said.
Last year, 8.3 million tonnes of sugar beets were harvested in Ukraine, which was 19% down on 2019 over a reduction in acreage. In addition, unfavorable weather conditions made farmers start the harvesting campaign later than usual.
"Sugar produced in Ukraine is used to meet domestic demand and shipped for export. Both of these sales channels shrank in recent years. Over the past five years, the level of sugar consumption per person decreased by 19% to 28.8 kilograms per year in 2019. In 2020, some 151,000 tonnes of sugar was exported, which was 36% down on the previous year," it said.
At the same time, in recent years, Ukraine imported the minimum amount of sugar, which was 1,000-2,000 tonnes per year. According to the UCAB, to avoid a deficit in the domestic market and stabilize prices, the Economy Ministry is considering setting a quota for imports of raw cane sugar.
Global prices of sugar have been gradually falling since 2016. In early 2020 alone, sugar prices plummeted by 48%.
"However, starting from February 2020, sugar prices began to rise. The rise in prices on the world market gives reason to hope for a recovery in sugar production both for domestic needs and for an increase in export shipments in accordance with the needs of the global market," the UCAB said.