ALGERIA: Cristal Union signs JV for sugar refinery
Published: 03/09/2010, 8:37:54 AM
French sugar maker Cristal Union and Algerian food firm LaBelle signed a partnership to build a joint refinery in Algeria with an initial capacity of 350,000 metric tonnes of raw sugar per year, according to Reuters.
The capacity is due to "rapidly" rise to 700,000 tonnes a year, the company said in a statement released after its meeting in Reims, east of Paris.
It also said that its consolidated turnover had dropped 8.7% last year, to EUR1.2 billion (US$1.63 billion), due to a sharp drop in sugar prices.
The new refinery, an investment of EUR70 million, was likely to be operational by 2012 although there was no deadline for the project, a spokeswoman told Reuters.