Several sugar factories in southern Russia are idle due to disruptions in raw material supplies - Eurasian Sugar Association

MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax) - There are sugar factories in southern Russia sitting idle due to a lack of raw materials, as bad weather is interfering with the regular flow of beets for processing.

"In all regions of the country, with the exception of some parts of the Volga Federal District, unfavorable weather conditions have developed that impede the rhythmic schedule of beets moving from the fields to factories. Because of this, certain factories in the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories are in a state of downtime due to a lack of raw materials, which is creating additional financial costs," the Eurasian Sugar Association said.

As reported, information from the agro-industrial complex shows that, by November 24, sugar beets were harvested from 1 million hectares (compared to 961,200 hectares a year ago), and 50.4 million tonnes (compared to 45.6 million last year) were collected for a yield of 490, 2 c/ha (474 c/ha last year).

The association says that sugar beet crops in EAEU countries have been harvested from 99% of all planted areas. This year's sugar beet harvest was 56.4 million tonnes versus 51.2 million tonnes the year before. Beets are processed by 63 of the 74 sugar factories in the EAEU. Sugar production totaled 5.15 million tonnes.