Top Russian sugar producer begins sowing sugar beet crop

MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - Prodimex Group, Russia's leading sugar producer, has started sowing the company's strategic crop - sugar beets.

According to a Group press release, the planned area for crops in all regions where the company is present this season will be about 160,000 hectares. "According to statistics, on average, under favorable weather conditions, this most important stage of the agricultural season in different regions takes from two weeks to a month," the report says.

The farms in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories were the first to start sowing. The planned area for beets in Kuban is 10,700 hectares, and in the Stavropol region, over 12,000 hectares. 13.5% and 32% of the planned areas have already been sown, respectively.

In late March - early April, the sowing of Prodimex sugar beets in the Central Black Earth region will begin.

As reported, in 2022, the Group harvested 7.8 million tonnes of sugar beets, which is 30% more than in the previous year. Sugar production, including that processed from purchased raw materials, exceeded 1.2 million tonnes, a company record.

The Prodimex Group includes 14 sugar factories. The Group controls a land bank with an area of 900,000 hectares in the Russian regions most favorable for agriculture. The principle owner is Igor Khudokormov.