Uzbekistan to cut sugar imports to minimum by 2016 – Food Industry

The source said that Uzbekistan is planning almost fully cover internal demand for sugar by the end of 2015 due to launch of new processing capacities. He recalled that new sugar plant will be commission in Tashkent region in July 2014 and it will reach its full capacity by the end of 2015, which will help Uzbekistan fully meet internal demand for sugar.

Singapore’s Welton International, Kito Investment and Austria’s SЕID Handelsgesellschaft m.b.H founded joint venture Angren Shakar to construct the second sugar plant in Uzbekistan. The plant is located in special industrial zone Angren. The project cost is US$108.5 million and financed due to direct investments of the founders. The plant will produce 1,000 tonnes of sugar a day from sugar cane. BMA AG is a general constructor of the plant.

Khorezm Shakar JV OJSC is an only sugar producer in Uzbekistan. Khorezm Sugar Plant was commissioned in 1998. The cost of the plant is US$83.25 million. Preliminary plant was designed for processing sugar-beet, which was planned to plant in Uzbekistan. The capacity of the plant was 3,000 tonnes of sugar-beet a day. But low crop pushed to conserve the plant.

Shakar Investment, an Uzbek-Austrian-US joint venture, carried out project on transfer of the capacity to processing of cane sugar with the cost of US$2 million in 2002. Currently, the plant can process 1,000 tonnes of cane sugar a day.

Shareholders of the company are Motril Investments (Panama, 69.43%), KITO Investments (Singapore, 20%), SEID Handels GmbH (Austria, 10%) and employees (0.57%).

According to statistics, annual demand of Uzbekistan in sugar makes up about 750,000 tonnes, of which 350,000 tonnes are currently imported. Khorezm Shakar JV OJSC increased sugar production by 10.3% to 356,500 tonnes in 2013.