A rescue plan is being drawn up for Morocco’s state-owned sugar refinery group Sucrerie du Tadla (SUTA), whose privatization was aborted last year. The manufacturer has accumulated 500 million Moroccan dirham ($48.6 million) debts, largely attributed to the lingering drought that has hampered sugar beet planting on the North African state.
Ahead of the anticipated restructuring scheme, the public Sugar manufacture appointed a new general manager, Khalid Chekrouni, to replace Abdu Al-Iraqi Houssaini, reported Reuters.
SUTA operates three sugar mills in the Tadla region, about 200 kilometers southeast of Casablanca, with a production capacity of 100,000 tons per annum. Morocco’s total sugar production reaches 500,000 tons annually, while local consumption is estimated at double the output.
Moroccos sugar industry includes 14 plants. divided into five groups. Four of these groups are state owned—SURAC, SUNABEL, SUTA and SUCRAFOR—while the remaining COSUMAR group is privately held. As part of Morocco’s national privatization program, the government intends to sell divest its shars in Sunabel and Surac and liberalize its sugar market by 2003-end. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
