KYIV: Ukrainian sugar refineries have produced 1.02 million tonnes of white sugar from 7.7 million tonnes of sugar beet so far in the 2020/21 processing season that began on Sept. 1, the Ukrtsukor national sugar union said on Tuesday.

The union has predicted that output of white sugar will fall in the full year to about 1.2 million tonnes, from 1.48 million tonnes the previous year, because of a weaker beet harvest.

The economy ministry said that farmers had collected 9.1 million tonnes of sugar beet in 2020, against 9.8 million tonnes in 2019.