HAMBURG (Reuters) - German biofuel producer CropEnergies <CE2G.DE> said on Wednesday the length of time it will suspend bioethanol production at its Ensus plant in northern England will depend on market conditions.
CropEnergies said on Monday it would pause production at the plant in Wilton from late November due to low bioethanol prices.
"During the production pause, the plant in Wilton will produce no ethanol and no animal feed," a CropEnergies spokeswoman told Reuters. "But the plant will remain ready for production, so that we can react to market conditions."
Ensus operates one of the largest bioethanol production plants in Europe, with and annual capacity of 400,000 cubic metres of bioethanol and 350,000 tonnes of dried protein animal feed called DDGS.
Asked how long the production stop will last, the spokeswoman said: "We fundamentally make no comment about operational details. The duration of the production pause in Wilton depends on the market development."
CropEnergies, a unit of Germany's largest sugar refiner Suedzucker <SZUG.DE>, said on Oct. 10 that global ethanol prices were being weakened partly because low sugar and maize prices were encouraging higher production.
Heavy selling pressure pushed ethanol prices in October down by 10 percent in only a few weeks, the spokeswoman added.
The Wilton plant can process up to 1 million tonnes of feed grains annually as raw material.
(Reporting by Michael Hogan, editing by David Evans)
