processing campaign starts at Austrian starch mills

AGRANA: processing campaign starts at Austrian starch mills

Wet corn processing reduces costs for farmers in times of exploding energy prices
 

The processing campaigns have started at AGRANA’s three starch factories in Austria. The AGRANA plant in Gmünd (Lower Austria) began receiving shipments of starch potatoes on 29 August. The quantity of potatoes delivered will be lower than in the prior year due to lower contracted volumes and below-average forecast harvests as a result of the dry period. The starch content of the potatoes supplied is currently above average at 20 % (prior year: 18.5 %). The starch potato campaigns will be concluded in the second half of December.

Wet corn processing also started at the beginning of this week at both AGRANA sites in Austria, namely at Aschach/Donau (Upper Austria) and Pischelsdorf (Lower Austria). The wet corn campaigns are expected to last until mid-December. This will be followed by a switch back to the use of dry corn. The immediate processing of the freshly-harvested corn protects the environment since energy-intensive drying is not necessary. In 2021, the processing volume of wet corn at the plants in Aschach/Donau and Pischelsdorf amounted to around 230,000 metric tons. This led to savings of over six million litres of fuel oil for the drying processes. Besides the environmental advantage, wet corn also enables farmers to achieve a higher gross margin compared to dry corn since the drying costs, particularly in times of exploding energy prices, are not incurred. A total of around 500,000 metric tons of corn – increasingly also special corn varieties such as waxy and organic corn – are processed annually at the Aschach site.

 About AGRANA

AGRANA converts agricultural raw materials into high-quality foods and numerous industrial intermediate products. Around 9,000 employees at 55 production sites worldwide generate annual Group revenue of approximately € 2.9 billion. Established in 1988, the company is the world’s market leader in fruit preparations and the leading producer of fruit juice concentrates in Europe. In addition, its Starch segment is also a major manufacturer of custom starch products (made from potato, corn and wheat) and of bioethanol. AGRANA is the leading sugar producer in Central and Eastern Europe.


For queries, please contact:
Markus Simak
Public Relations
+43 1 21137 12084
markus.simak@agrana.com

Hannes Haider
Investor Relations
+43 1 21137 12905
hannes.haider@agrana.com

 

This announcement is available in German and English at www.agrana.com.