Irish Sugar given until 2007 or 2008

CLOSING Irish Sugar will be worth more than seven years net profits from sugar to Greencore, said stockbrokers after last week’s EU sugar reform spelled the end of Ireland’s 80 year old sugar industry.

Greencore said they will produce sugar and service customer requirements as long as it is commercially viable. But the end will come in 2007 or 2008, predicted Liam Igoe of Goodbody Stockbrokers.

Any later, and the company would not be paid the maximum compensation on offer for closing Irish Sugar, of up to €145m, at least 10% of which is to go to beet growers “to compensate, notably, for investment in specialised machinery which will lose its value.”