French sugar and ethanol group Tereos said that its head of trading and marketing, Philippe Huet, was leaving, adding to a series of management changes in the company in recent months.
Huet, who was also in charge of sales and research and development, will leave the company today, a spokesperson told Reuters.
The world's second largest sugar maker by volume has reshuffled management and reviewed strategy since changing chairman and chief executive at a board meeting last December.
The new leadership has said it wants to shift its commercial strategy from a volume-based to a margin-oriented approach. Sources have said it is in talks to sell a stake in a starch joint venture in China and wants to cease loss-making sugar activities in Romania.
Product Recall
The spokesperson, who was speaking in response to a Reuters request for comment, said Huet's departure was unrelated to a product recall in France.
Tereos' Beghin Say brand announced on Wednesday a recall of certain cooking sugar products because one ingredient had exceeded a regulatory health limit.
The spokesperson said 1,000 tonnes of sugar were being recalled and another 1,000 tonnes had been held back from the market.
Prior to Tereos, Huet was executive vice-president for Europe at COFCO International, the overseas trading arm of Chinese state-owned food group COFCO.
Tereos also plans to relocate activities of its Tereos Commodities trading unit from Switzerland to France by the end of March next year to create synergies, the spokesperson added.
Earlier this month, Tereos reported a net loss of €133 million ($158.79 million) in the year to 31 March, against a profit of 24 million a year earlier.
The company pledged to cut debt and improve results but warned that poor sugar output and low margins in the European starch sector would weigh on earnings in the first half of 2021/22.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more Supply Chain news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
