AGRANA's Sugar Factories
Austria
AGRANA's two sugar Austrian refineries, in Leopoldsdorf and Tulln, both in Lower Austria, produced around 408,000 tonnes of white sugar from 2.5 million tonnes of sugar beet during the 2006|07 season. The sugar beet was grown on nearly 39,000 hectares of land and sourced from 8,940 farmers. The two refineries process up to 13,000 tonnes of sugar beet per day. The sugar produced during the season is stored in sugar silos before being sold on, either packaged or in bulk, over the course of the year. The storage capacity of the two facilities (for bulk and packaged sugar) amounts to over 400,000 tonnes.
Austria has a maximum sugar quota of 405,812 tonnes. This quota will subject to a one-off reduction of 13.5% for the 2007|08 sugar season (1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008) to 351,027 tonnes.
The Tulln refinery houses the central packing plant for retail products. All of the 26 varieties of sugar marketed in Austria under the Wiener Zucker brand are packed here, automatically stored in a high-bay warehouse and shipped to the retail market. These products account for around 25% of total sugar sales.
The plant in Leopoldsdorf is exclusively involved in the production of sugar for the reprocessing industry (soft drinks, confectionary, other foodstuffs and fermentation). This sugar is shipped either in tankers, big bags or 50kg sacks.
On average, every Austrian consumes between 35kg and 38kg of sugar per year.
Hungary
AGRANA's Hungarian subsidiary, Magyar Cukor ZRT, produced around 150,300 tonnes of sugar from approximately 1 million tonnes of sugar beet in 2006|07 at its two refineries. The maximum daily processing capacity at Petöhaza is 7,500 tonnes, while Kaposvar can produce up to 5,000 tonnes.
Hungary's maximum sugar quota is currently 298,591 tonnes, with AGRANA accounting for a share of 152,137 tonnes. Hungary is also subject to a one-off reduction in the quota for the 2007|08 season of 6.2%, meaning that AGRANA's share of the quota will be cut to 142,689 tonnes.
Both Hungarian plants produce top quality sugar for the retail and wholesale markets.
Around half of the sugar sold by AGRANA in Hungary is marketed through a broad product range branded as Koronas Cukor - the market leader in the retail food sector.
The remaining sugar is sold to the reprocessing industry. As in other markets, the confectionary and other food industries are among AGRANA's major customers.
Czech Republic
Moravskoslezske Cukrovary a.s., AGRANA's subsidiary in the Czech Republic, processed approximately 640,000 tonnes of sugar beet to make 107,300 tonnes of sugar in the 2006|07 season at its two refineries in Hrusovany (near the Austrian border) and Opava (close to the Polish border). The daily processing capacities of the plants are 4,700 tonnes in Hrusovany and 3,300 tonnes in Opava, respectively.
The Czech Republic's maximum sugar quota amounts to 367,938 tonnes, of which AGRANA's share accounts for 90,154 tonnes. As in other markets, the Czech quota will also be subject to an extraordinary cut of 7.29% in the 2007|08 season, effectively reducing AGRANA's quota to 83,582 tonnes.
The Czech subsidiary also strategically markets its extensive retail product range under a local brand, Korunni Cukr.
Slovakia
Slovenske Cukrovary s.r.o., AGRANA's subsidiary in Slovakia, produced approximately 46,500 tonnes of sugar from around 320,000 tonnes of sugar beet during the 2006|07 season at its facility in Sered. The daily processing capacity of this refinery is 2,800 tonnes.
The AGRANA share of Slovakia's EU sugar quota of 140,031 tonnes amounts to 59,403 tonnes. Slovakia is also subject to a one-off reduction of 4.32% in the 2007|08 season, which effectively cuts AGRANA's quota to 56,837 tonnes.
AGRANA markets its products in Slovakia under the brand Korunny Cukor. This brand has been successfully promoted since its launch in 2001 and is characterized by a broad range of outstanding quality products.
Romania
S.C. AGRANA Romania S.A. has two refineries which, in the 2006|07 season, produced 258,040 tonnes of sugar, of which 220,000 tonnes were from the refining of raw sugar. At the Buzau plant, approx. 300km north of Bucharest, only raw sugar is refined. The Roman facility, in the Bucharest metropolitan area, is also equipped to process sugar beet. The processing capacity for sugar beet in Roman amounts to around 4,000 tonnes per day, with both refineries able to process around 900 tonnes of raw sugar per day.
AGRANA's share of the Rumanian sugar quota of 438,800 tonnes amounts to 154,908 tonnes, of which 24,240 tonnes are refined from sugar beet and 130,668 tonnes are refined from raw sugar. A one-off reduction of 13.5% in the country's quota for the 2007|08 season means that the AGRANA's quotas will be reduced to 20,967 tonnes of refined sugar from sugar beet and 113,028 tonnes refined from raw sugar.
Retail products in small pack sizes make up a key share of the Rumanian market. AGRANA is the market leader in this segment with its Margaritar Zahar brand.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Southern Europe and, in particular, the countries in the west of the Balkan region, are important markets for AGRANA. The new sugar market regulations have blocked sugar exports from the European Union. In order to be able to continue supplying the Balkan region, AGRANA has set up a 50:50 joint venture with its long-standing distribution partner SCO Studen & Co Holding/Vienna to build a refinery in Brcko, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The construction work is progressing on schedule, with the plant expected to be operational at the end of 2007. Once complete, the production capacity of this refinery will be 150,000 tonnes of sugar per year.