BEET Ireland launched its first public fundraise at the National Ploughing Championships in Co Laois on Tuesday. With a target of €6 million, this fundraise is the next step on the road to developing a new sugar and bioethanol industry for Ireland.

BEET Ireland has been working with Cantor Fitzgerald to plan the financing of this major strategic infrastructural project for Ireland, which will cost in the order of €400 million. Funds will be raised in conjunction with the capital needs of the project.

The first fundraise tranche of €3 million will be used to finance the pre-development costs for the new state-of- the-art sugar and bioethanol production facility, including site investigation and planning, with a view to securing planning permission for the facility.

BEET Ireland is a consortium of farmers and suppliers set on rejuvenating Ireland’s sugar industry which will be a major economic stimulus for Ireland. Currently the cost of all sugar imports for Ireland is over €300 million per annum. The Beet Ireland business model plans that growers will play a central role in the redevelopment of Ireland’s sugar industry. BEET Ireland is continuing to work with the Irish Government to deliver this major infrastructural project for Ireland.

Proposals to rejuvenate the Irish sugar industry here have been under way for approximately three years, led by Country Crest MD, Michael Hoey who has worked with a number of farming representatives and TDs in order to gain traction for the plans.

Ireland ceased sugar production in 2006 with the closure of the Mallow plant operated by Greencore. German firm Nordzucker acquired the rights to Ireland’s biggest sugar brand Siucra, in 2009.