Austria’s Agrana to form $45.2 mln JV with U.S. Amalgamated Sugar

Austrian fruit ingredients producer Agrana Group plans to form a joint venture (JV) with Amalgamated Sugar Co., the U.S. sugar beet-refining unit of sugar manufacturer Snake River Sugar Co., through a 40 million euros ($45.2 million) investment.

The JV will ensure construction of a betaine crystallisation plant at Agrana’s sugar mill in Tulln, Lower Austria, hence increase its production capacity and more value-added competitiveness in the sugar market in terms of prices.

Agrana revealed that the formation of the joint venture is subject to approval by Austria’s antitrust authorities and the construction of the plant will take approximately a year.

The new crystallisation plant project is intended to start in early 2019, and will make Tulln the world’s third high-quality crystalline betaine production site.