British Sugar and UK beet growers have reached agreement on a new contract, British Sugar and National Farmers' Union (NFU) officials said on Friday. "We have reached an agreement," John Hoyles, chairman of the NFU sugar board, told Reuters, declining to give details before growers were fully informed.
A British Sugar spokesman also confirmed that an agreement had been reached and said letters would be posted to growers imminently.
British Sugar, the leading supplier of sugar in the UK and a unit of Associated British Foods , has announced plans to shut its sites at Allscott in the West Midlands and York in Yorkshire, which together employ more than 200 people.
The plant closures are aimed at boosting efficiency as EU sugar reform starts to cut sugar prices.
Hoyles led the team that met British Sugar officials in recent weeks to discuss a new agreement for Britain's 6,500 growers.