Ukraine's exports of white beet sugar fell about 50 percent to 174,000 tonnes from September to December compared to the same period a year earlier due to unfavourable market conditions, Ukrainian sugar producers' union Ukrtsukor said on Wednesday. Ukraine has said it produced about 2 million tonnes of white sugar from beet in the calendar year 2017 and plans to export 460,000 tonnes of the commodity in the 2017/18 season. The season runs from September to August.
"This year was not very favourable for domestic exporters, because prices in the foreign market were lower. In addition, weather conditions played a decisive role in the quality of sugar beet, resulting in a low sugar content," the union said. The union said Ukraine exported its sugar mostly to Sri Lanka, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Sudan and Libya. Ukraine consumes about 1.5 million tonnes of sugar a year.