Cristal Union has increased sugar and alcohol production thanks to a successful beet harvest.

The French company Cristal Union produced 1.5 million tons of sugar and 3.6 million hectoliters of alcohol and ethanol in the current agricultural year, processing 13 million tons of sugar beet. The news was published on Wednesday, according to "Reuters" agency.

The company's statement notes the recovery of sugar beet crop volumes compared to the previous season. Back then, around 10 million tons of sugar beet were processed as the crop suffered from pest attacks that led to the spread of yellows.

Data from the French Ministry of Agriculture for December indicates that the average yield of sugar beet in 2021 was 89 tons per hectare, with a sugar content of 16%. This exceeds the average in France, which is 85.7 tons per hectare.

Despite severe spring frosts, the sugar beet harvest in 2021 increased by more than 30% compared to the previous year when the harvest was extremely low.

Cristal Union will pay its cooperative members an average of 29 euros per ton of processed sugar beet, exceeding the 2020 figure of 25.5 euros. In the medium term, the company plans to achieve a price of 30 euros per ton.

“The group is confident that this target will be achieved with active market trends for sugar, alcohol, and ethanol,” the statement said.