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KIEV, Nov 17 (Reuters): Ukraine's sugar refineries have increased white beet sugar output by about 13 percent to 1.641 million tonnes so far this year compared with about 1.450 million in the period in 2004, producers said yesterday.
Ukrainian sugar producers' union Ukrtsukor said in a statement 54 refineries had processed 12.6 million tonnes of sugar beet so far compared with 12.9 million in 2004.
Plants processed about 128,940 tonnes of raw beet per day and the daily white sugar output totals 29,700 tonnes.
Farm minister Oleksander Baranivsky said last month Ukraine was likely to increase sugar output to between 1.88 and 1.90 million tonnes in 2005 compared with 1.79 million in 2004.
Earlier this season the ministry forecast the white sugar output at 1.8 to 2.0 million tonnes. Ukraine needs up to two million tonnes of sugar per year.
The ministry said Ukraine had harvested 16.6 million tonnes of sugar beet so far this year from about 99 percent of the sown area.
Producers have said beet crop could total about 17 million tonnes in 2005 while analysts put the harvest at about 14.2 million.
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