OREANDA-NEWS. December 14, 2009. The acting chairman of the Ukrros sugar union Mr. V. Hryhorevskyi has announced recently that the Company plans to reduce the area sowed by sugar beets by 12% or 2 thousand ha in 2010. In such a way UROS area under sugar beets, wheat, barley and corn will amount to 15, 23, 17 and 10 thousand ha, respectively.

Millennium Capital sees the news to be negative for Ukrros, since the Company in-house sugar beet rate did not exceed 50% in 2009, while the internal price of sugar beet rose by 60%, y/y in 11M09, leading to the Company losses. In the light of further internal sugar beet price growth, as well as of an uncertain tendency of the exchange rate in 2010, which affects the imported cane raw sugar price, Millennium Capital sees that the expansion of the area under sugar beets would be preferable for the Company.