OREANDA-NEWS. September 14, 2009. Last week, according to a schedule ASTARTA' sugar plants started a sugar campaign. Yarekivsky and Globynsky sugar plants (Poltava region) opened the sugar production season among the first. In the second decade of September, other ASTARTA' sugar plants will also launch sugar production. Before the beginning of this season, ASTARTA fulfilled the modernization program resulting in the increase of production efficiency and reduction of energy consumption. In 2009, the investments into energy efficiency program amounted to about 3 million Euro.

Comment of Viktor Ivanchyk, CEO of ASTARTA Holding N. V.: "We consider vertical integration of ASTARTA as one of our main competitive advantages and see the prospects of our sugar business in the increase of production efficiency and advances in quality and increasing volumes of sugar beet. In spite of unfavorable weather conditions, the regional subsidiaries of the Group grew enough sugar beet to provide 95% of own raw material for our sugar plants."