Ukraine produced enough sugar in 2023/2024 season for domestic market and exports - ministry

MOSCOW. Feb 2 (Interfax) - Ukraine produced about 1.8 million tonnes of sugar in the 2023/2024 season and the average wholesale price for domestic sugar was UAH23-24 per kilogram at the beginning of this year, Ukrainian media reported, citing a report First Deputy Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Taras Vysotsky gave at a meeting on the development of the sugar industry on Thursday.

"In general, the situation on the domestic sugar market is stable. The produced product is sufficient for Ukrainians' domestic needs and to ensure the necessary amount of exports," Vysotsky was quoted as saying by the ministry's press service on social media.

He recalled that domestic sugar consumption amounts to about 1 million tonnes. The maximum amount of sugar exports in the 2023/2024 marketing season, according to a memorandum with producers, is supposed to be 650,000 tonnes.

The meeting, which was attended by representatives of the industry association and leading sugar producers, also covered planning of crop areas for 2024 and expanding the geography of sugar exports.

The Agrarian Policy Ministry and National Association of Sugar Producers signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2023 in which they agreed to regulate sugar exports based on a tentative balance of demand and supply.