The Company Sunoko, a member of the MK Group, has started a new sugar beet processing campaign. This year, it is expected to process 1.8 million tons of sugar beet and produce more than 260,000 tons of sugar in three processing centers. Traditionally, the lighting of the furnaces in the sugar factories in Vrbas, Pećinci and Kovačica was attended by all employees, and the reception of sugar beet in these factories has already started.
„With the production of 260,000 tons of sugar planned for this year’s campaign, Sunoko will meet the needs of the Serbian market, but will also develop as a net exporter in the wider region, which is part of our Company’s business strategy. For the sake of comparison, last year Sunoko produced 144,000 tons of sugar, as a result of reduced areas under this culture and unfavorable weather conditions. This year’s planned production will enable us to market our sugar in the surrounding countries of the region and the Western European market. We are particularly pleased that the Queen of the Field occupied a significantly larger area compared to the previous campaign. We owe this positive trend, among other things, to the measures of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and the incentives and support provided by Sunoko to sugar beet producers,” said Slobodan Košutić, Director of the Sunoko Company.
In Serbia, sugar beet was sown on a total of 42,000 hectares this year, of which Sunoko’s sugar mills will process raw materials from about 29,000 hectares. The Queen of the Field, as it is often called, is in good condition on most of the land thanks to the well-applied production technology, despite the unstable weather conditions. The change in weather with cooling has a positive effect on the health condition of sugar beet, and the crops are entering technological maturity and according to all parameters, sugar beet is ready for processing.
Sunoko has already released the terms of the sugar beet production contract for 2024. With the offered price of 47 euros per ton of pure sugar beet, the company will provide the producers with a bonus for the achieved digestion which is higher than the digestion of Sunoko, half of free seeds, as well as an advance of 600 euros per hectare for signing the contract by December 1. In addition, Sunoko provides its partners with quality raw materials at the most favorable terms on the market. Producers can count on the professional and advisory assistance of the Research and Development Center and the company’s raw materials sector, with the aim of achieving higher productivity and quality of beet while reducing production costs.
