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euro adhoc: AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG
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AGRANA´s Pischelsdorf bioethanol plant starts trial operation on schedule - Ethanol supply for blend in Austria beginning October 1 is secure - Commodity boom requires postponement of operational commissioning

  Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible
  for the content of this announcement.
Company Information/Bioethanol
17.09.2007
AGRANA will complete the investment stage of the new bioethanol plant
in Pischelsdorf, Lower Austria, at the end of September as planned. 
Following this, the facility will be tested over a trial period of 
several weeks to verify the proper functioning of all processes. 
Subsequently, however, the plant will be shut down until the 
commissioning, which is now scheduled only for the spring of 2008. 
This decision was reached in response to the recent upward surge in 
prices for wheat and corn (maize) in international commodity markets.
Despite this decision, AGRANA will fully meet all supply obligations.
As an interim solution, the volumes in question (required especially 
for the 4.4% bioethanol component in blended automotive fuel in 
Austria from October 1, 2007 onward) will be provided by other Group 
companies.
The deferral of regular-scale production in Pischelsdorf will have no
substantial effect on this fiscal year´s (2007|08) earnings situation
at the AGRANA Group. This year´s costs are in line with expectations 
and will require no additional provisions.
Wheat prices have soared in the past weeks and are currently at EUR 
265 per tonne. By comparison, wheat averaged about EUR 133 per tonne 
in the financial year 2006|07 and EUR 107 in 2005|06. Corn quotations
too are at a record level of EUR 246 per tonne in Europe. That is 
about 70% higher than the average in 2006|07 and almost 100% higher 
than in 2005|06. Next to continual worldwide growth in demand, the 
foremost causes of these price jumps are temporary factors such as 
weather-related regional crop failures that lead to physical supply 
shortages in Europe, as well as speculation on international 
commodity exchanges.
As the average grain surpluses of the European Union structurally 
exceed the grain requirements for bioethanol production in Europe, 
AGRANA - particularly amid the EU´s planned scrapping of the 10% 
set-aside scheme - expects a corresponding increase in grain acreage 
and production in Europe, and thus a price decrease. This trend 
reversal should be amplified by average yields under normal weather 
conditions. AGRANA therefore plans to commission the plant 
operationally in the spring of 2008.
This press release is also available at www.agrana.com.
end of announcement                               euro adhoc 17.09.2007 07:24:10

Further inquiry note:

AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG
Doris Schober
Investor Relations/Corporate Communications
Phone: +43-1-211 37-12084
E-mail:investor.relations@agrana.at

Branche: Food
ISIN: AT0000603709
WKN: 779535
Index: ATX Prime, WBI
Börsen: Wiener Börse AG / official market

Original-Content von: AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG, übermittelt durch news aktuell

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