Ukraine's sugar refineries have increased white beet sugar output by about 11 percent to 1.77 million tonnes so far this year compared with about 1.60 million in the same period in 2004, producers said on Thursday.
The sugar producers' union Ukrtsukor said in a statement refineries had processed 13.5 million tonnes of sugar beet so far compared with 14.1 million in 2004.
Farm minister Oleksander Baranivsky has said Ukraine is 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 white sugar output at 1.8 to 2.0 million tonnes. Ukraine needs up to two million tonnes of sugar per year for domestic needs.