A new study suggests there is a strong business case for the revival of the Irish sugar industry. The study says a new factory would directly employ around 200 with about 5,000 additional jobs on farms, agricultural contracting, haulage and in service industries.
This is the second report in recent months to indicate that sugar production may again be possible here.
Today's study, drawn up by the Irish Sugar Beet Bio-Refinery Group, proposes the establishment of an integrated bio-refinery plant for the production of sugar and ethanol from sugar beet and grain.
The plant would be located on a new site in the south east, at the centre of the sugar beet growing region. It would cost €350m to build, of which around €200m would be spent on Irish services, equipment and expertise.
30% of the required finance would come from equity investment and the balance of 70% from bank loans borrowed over 15 years.
The expert group includes former senior executives in Irish Sugar and Greencore, Professor Jimmy Burke of University College Dublin and farmer representatives.
The financial figures were verified by international consultancy firm, PwC, and the study was part-funded by the Carlow County Enterprise Board.
The bio-refinery plant would have an annual production of 154,000 tonnes of sugar and 50 million litres of ethanol. This would be produced from 1.2 million tonnes of sugar beet, of which one million tonnes would be used for sugar and 0.2 million tonnes for ethanol.
A further 56,000 tonnes of grain and molasses, a by-product of sugar processing, would be required to produce the annual target of 50 million litres of ethanol.
Chris Comerford, former chief executive of Irish Sugar and Greencore and a member of the expert group, said the establishment of a joint sugar/ethanol plant is critical to the financial viability of the project.
He said the proposed annual output of 154,000 tonnes of sugar is equivalent to the annual sugar demand in Ireland. He said developing an industry that would rely on exports would not make economic sense.
Sugar production ceased here in 2006 following the closure of the Carlow and Mallow factories. Because Ireland surrendered its sugar quota in 2006, a new Irish sugar plant will require EU approval. But the study says the proposal to abolish the EU sugar quota regime in 2015 opens a real opportunity to re-establish sugar beet processing in Ireland.
Earlier this year, a group called Beet Ireland issued a study stating that a joint sugar/bioethanol plant could be viable.
