FARMERS' fears about the fate of British Sugar plants - including the refinery at Boroughbridge Road, in York - have turned into Stock Exchange wobbles.

City dealers wiped £430 million from the value of parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) in the face of a newly-announced British Sugar profits slide of £22 million.

The 6.5 per cent drop for ABF came in spite of record sales for its clothes chain, Primark.

The drop in British Sugar profits are attributed to farmers' fears of floods of cheap sugar imports, and new European Union quotas.

About 7,500 growers annually supply the York plant with raw beet.

They fear the plant might be forced to close in the massive reforms taking place in the European sugar industry.

If that happened, it would be devastating for them - and for the 145 workers at the York plant who, in the 22-week pre-winter rush to bring in the beet harvest, process 190,000 tonnes bound for industrial users throughout the UK, plus 100,000 tonnes of animal feed.

The European Commission is seeking a cut in production, to create fairer trade with Third World sugar producers.

Under a restructuring scheme, less efficient European sugar producers get compensation for leaving the industry.

Already Ireland has stopped production altogether, and Denmark has announced

factory closures.

Could the York factory be next? That was the question asked in the House of Commons last December by Anne McIntosh, the Vale of York Tory MP.

Jim Knight, Food and Rural Affairs Minister, told her that "the future of the sugar factory in York is in the hands of the market".

But John Smith, of British Sugar, said: "All we can say is we have no plans at this time to make any changes at any of our six factories in the UK. In terms of profitability, we have taken a knock, but the market volume in the UK has not changed significantly."

A spokesman for the National Farmers' Union in York said: "We have had no indication from British Sugar that they are looking at the York factory in particular.

"There has been massive investment in York over the last few years, and we would like to think that other plants elsewhere in the country would be considered ahead of us."

Miss McIntosh said she was aware of the pressure the Boroughbridge Road plant was under.

The MP said: "I am looking for alternative areas for the use of sugar beet, like biofuel or biomass, which should have more recognition from the Government. But it remains an important rotational crop and I will continue to watch the market with anxiety."

Updated: 09:33 Friday, April 21, 2006