Tereos, the French sugar and ethanol group, has sealed an agreement with grain cooperative Axereal to sell its stake in their malt business and is consulting unions on a plan to close its sugar activities in Romania, it said in a document to investors. Tereos said it was "in the process of consulting employees' representative bodies with a view to present the project of a potential shutdown of its Romanian sugar activities in the context of a pessimistic outlook." "Since its acquisition by Tereos, the Ludus sugar plant in Romania has been facing difficulties mainly due to constant reduction in sugar beet surfaces despite several mitigating actions and has accumulated substantial losses," Tereos said. Reuters reported in June last year that the cooperative group was seeking to exit its loss-making Romanian sugar activities. The Romanian business had 153 permanent employees at the end of September, out of a total 15,000 for the whole group. Tereos has said it aims to focus on its activities in Europe and Brazil. It is the second largest sugar and ethanol producer in Brazil and also has operations in Reunion Island, Mozambique, Indonesia, Tanzania and Kenya.