MEXICO CITY: The Mexican government began the process of selling nine sugar mills that were expropriated more than a decade ago, for which it expects to receive at least 8.1 billion pesos ($538 million).
The mills are being offered in four sets of two, and one separately, with the aim of attracting multiple participants. The mills produced a combined 1.34 million metric tons of sugar last season, accounting for 22% of total domestic production, according to the government agency in charge of administering assets.
The mills are in the states of Puebla, Morelos, San Luis Potosí and Veracruz. Bids are scheduled for June, with the idea of awarding them ahead of the 2015-2016 sugar cane harvest.
The agency said the mills are among the most productive in the country, and cited a recent agreement between Mexico and the U.S. which suspended duties that had been imposed on imports of Mexican sugar into the U.S.
The mills were among 27 seized by the government in 2001 at a time of financial difficulty for the domestic sugar industry. Some were returned to their original owners, and others have already been sold.
