For the first time in 155 years, the Abu Qurqas factory in Egypt stopped producing sugar, according to What was revealed by Major General Essam Al-Badawi, CEO and Managing Director of the Egyptian Sugar and Integrated Industries Company, according to what was reported by Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.
Al-Badawi said that Minya Governorate was producing 950,000 tons of cane, and the factory was receiving 750,000 tons of it until 2020, but last year the factory received 90,000 tons, which led to losses of about 112 million pounds (more than 3.6 million US dollars). .
The Egyptian official also indicated that the company’s management met with the farmers to discuss increasing their imports to the Abu Qurqas factory, but the amount of cane supplied to the factory decreased in 2023 to only 10 thousand tons, which is an amount sufficient to operate for only 5 days.
Al-Badawi added that based on this matter, the company took the decision not to operate the Abu Qurqas factory in cane this year, and raised the quantity of beets to one million tons, and transferred cane supplies to the Jarga factory, with the Abu Qurqas factory bearing the entire transportation costs.
Al-Badawi stated that despite the increase in the price of supplying cane by 500 pounds per ton compared to last year, as it became 1,500 pounds instead of 1,000 pounds last year, farmers turned to “Al-Awadi” merchants, who buy the crop from them at prices exceeding 2,200 pounds and 2,500 pounds per ton. And sell it to molasses juicers and juice shops.
The Managing Director of the Egyptian Sugar and Integrated Industries Company also pointed out that the company lost 3.5 billion pounds in sugar last year, while it achieved gains outside sugar of about 1.35 billion pounds (more than 43 million US dollars).