EANS-News: AGRANA opens new fruit preparations plant in Changzhou (China) - IMAGE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AGRANA now with three facilities in China Plant Openings Vienna - The fruit, starch and sugar group AGRANA yesterday officially opened its second production site for fruit preparations in China. Around EUR 22 million have been invested in this new facility in Changzhou. Changzhou is located in Jiangsu province, around 150 km north-west of Shanghai. The plan is to initially employ around 70 personnel at this new site, which will manufacture approximately 30,000 tonnes of fruit preparations, particularly strawberries, blueberries or peaches, for the fruit yoghurt, bakery and ice cream sectors, as well as for food services. "We are delighted to be opening this new site after just one year of construction work. China is the world's largest yoghurt market and is growing fast. Their locations mean that our production facilities are in close proximity to major dairy product customers. The construction of a second fruit preparations site in the Shanghai region was therefore a logical investment in order to consolidate our market leadership", highlights AGRANA CEO, Stephan Büttner, at the opening ceremony. The Chinese yoghurt market has nearly doubled in the last five years, partly due to the rising demand for yoghurt drinks. According to Euromonitor, the yoghurt market in China is forecast to grow by an average of 7.9% annually until 2023. In 2018, the per capita consumption in China amounted to 6.8 kg per year (Western Europe: 12.5 kg; USA: 5.2 kg). Fruit preparations at AGRANA Fruit preparations contain top quality fruit which is either puréed or diced and used in dairy products or in the ice cream and bakery products industries. These products are individually developed and produced by AGRANA on the basis of close development-related collaborations with customers. In addition to the food processing industry, AGRANA also supplies its fruit preparations to fast-food companies and food service providers. AGRANA produces fruit preparations at 28 sites worldwide. In addition to the new site in Changzhou, AGRANA also has another fruit preparation facility in Dachang (Beijing province), which was constructed six years ago. Besides these, AGRANA maintains a fruit juice concentrate plant in Xianyang (Shaanxi province). About AGRANA AGRANA adds value to agricultural commodities to produce top quality foodstuffs and numerous industrial upstream products. Around 9,400 personnel working at 58 production facilities worldwide generate consolidated annual revenues of around EUR 2.6 billion. The Group was founded in 1988, is the global leader in fruit preparations and also a major producer of fruit juice concentrates in Europe as well as being a key manufacturer of customised starch products and organic ethanol in its Starch segment. AGRANA is also one of today's leading sugar companies in Central and Eastern Europe. This press release is available in German and English at www.agrana.com [http:// www.agrana.com/]. Further inquiry note: AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG Mag.(FH) Hannes Haider Investor Relations Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12905 E-mail: hannes.haider@agrana.com Mag.(FH) Markus Simak Public Relations Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12084 E-mail: markus.simak@agrana.com end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pictures with Announcement: ---------------------------------------------- http://resources.euroadhoc.com/images/2118/5/10276822/Eröffnung_Changzhou.jpg http://resources.euroadhoc.com/images/2118/5/10276822/Eröffnung_Changzhou2.jpg issuer: AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG F.-W.-Raiffeisen-Platz 1 A-1020 Wien phone: +43-1-21137-0 FAX: +43-1-21137-12926 mail: info.ab@agrana.com WWW: www.agrana.com ISIN: AT000AGRANA3 indexes: WBI stockmarkets: Wien, Frankfurt, Berlin, Stuttgart language: English
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