Paris: The French government and the Union in the country have shown resentment over the decision of the country’s largest ethanol and sugar producer Tereos to close its sugar activities in a factory in northern France, reports Reuters.
The company has cited the reasons for the drop in sugar beet output for closing the factory.
The company earned profit due to a hike in sugar prices but the high debt has prompted the company to sell its assets worldwide.
The group had last week stated that it planned to close a distillery located in eastern France. The group is also planning to close its sugar processing at Escaudoeuvres in northern France. This would cost 149 jobs in the country.
According to the union sources, the workers have since last week blocked the Escaudoeuvres factory which has 40,000 tonnes of sugar inside and seeds for the upcoming harvest.
The sugar beet harvesting and sugar processing are finished for the season at this time of the year in France.
The area under sugar beet is likely to fall to a 14-year low in France despite soaring sugar prices.
