Zucchero: Coprob is focusing on the reopening of Pontelongo
The Board of Directors has decided not to extend the short-time working scheme and has brought forward negotiations on seeds in order to plan the 2027 season in good time
To ensure the restart of Pontelongo, the plant in the Padua area which, together with the Minerbio plant in Bologna (which is still operational), has for years been the cornerstone of production at Coprob Italia Zuccheri.
The severe crisis that hit the sugar beet sector across Europe had, in fact, forced the co-operative (the only remaining bastion of the supply chain in the country) to throw in the towel, last February, keeping only the packaging department operational at the Padua hub.
Today, at the end of a campaign that ‘has shown signs of resilience’, there are signs of renewed confidence. “The direction is clear,” comments the chairman, Luigi Maccaferri. “We want to increase the area under cultivation, return to operating two sugar factories and make the most of a market phase that could offer significant prospects for Italian sugar beet farming.”
The two decisions of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors has taken two significant decisions, which clearly reflect this. “The first concerns the conclusion of contract negotiations by 15 December: a specific deadline, essential for planning seed purchases in good time, organising industrial operations and enabling farmers to plan their crop choices with greater certainty.” The second decision “is not to extend the furlough scheme: a decision intended to send a concrete signal of confidence in the company’s future and in the possibility of reopening Pontelongo”.
Meanwhile, the proposal put forward by the co-operative to agricultural businesses to bring forward crop planning ahead of the 2027 season, offering a bonus to those who sign up early, has met with a massive response. With a seasonal target for next year of 24,000 hectares of cultivated land, the figure has already reached 18,000 hectares to date, and “thanks to this surge, and in the hope of a further increase in the coming months, we are looking to the future with greater optimism”.
“The restart of the Pontelongo sugar factory,” continues Maccaferri, “is not merely a corporate objective: it concerns the entire sugar beet and sugar production supply chain, agricultural businesses, workers and the agro-industrial system of the region. We want to create the conditions to take the final necessary step and carry out the maintenance work required to restart the plant in the coming season.”
