World’s top sugar maker shuts large Brazil plant to cut debt

Raizen SA, the world’s largest sugar producer, said on Tuesday that it was shutting down for an indefinite period one of its largest plants in Brazil, the Santa Elisa mill, as the company continues to adopt measures to deal with a large debt load. Raizen RAIZ4, which is controlled by Shell SHEL and Brazilian conglomerate Cosan SA CSAN3, said that as a result of the plant’s closure it had entered into agreements with six sugar companies to sell 3.5 million metric tons of sugarcane that would be processed by the Santa Elisa mill. It said the sale of that sugarcane would bring in 1.045 billion reais ($188.18 million) that Raizen will use to cut its debt of over 30 billion reais. The Santa Elisa mill was a historical site for the Brazilian sugar and ethanol industry. The plant was founded 90 years ago in the main sugar belt of Ribeirao Preto, and helped consolidate Brazil’s position as the world’s largest sugar exporter. Its past owners were behind the political movement in the 1970s ...