Sugar beet began flowing into the Mallow, Co Cork, Irish Sugar factory yesterday, marking the end of a prolonged dispute which has seen the factory and its sister plant in Carlow close down.
A spokesman for Irish Sugar said that the company had embarked on a gradual build up to full production and that some product was delivered to Mallow yesterday. It was also working on scheduling the return of the 650 full and part-time workers who had been on protective notice because of the failure of the growers to supply beet to the plants in a row over price.