Ukraine to cut sugar production

Ukraine plans to reduce its sugar production from beets by about 36 to 37 percent due to large carryover stocks, Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk announced Wednesday. Production will be reduced to 1.4 million to 1.45 million tons this year as carryover stocks of sugar are estimated at 1.1 million tons, Prysyazhnyuk said during the International Agricultural Exhibition "Agro-2013." Ukraine produced 2.2 million tons of sugar in 2012. As of May 20, sugar beets have been planted to 306,000 hectares of land, 3 percent more than planned, the agriculture minister added.