Shanghai Bright Food Group Co has raised its offer to buy the sugar arm of Australian conglomerate CSR to A$1.75 billion (US$1.61 billion) to expand its core business.

CSR has agreed to start negotiations with Bright Food about selling the sugar unit, Sucrogen, after a federal court in Australia in February turned down its plan to spin off the sugar business.

Bright Food's new offer is also about 17 percent higher than its original proposal, prompting CSR to reconsider the higher bid following an earlier rejection.

CSR is the biggest sugar supplier in Australia, and analysts said the possible acquisition would further strengthen Bright Food's market position in China's sugar industry.

Bright Food, which sells about 1.2 million tons of sugar annually accounting for about 10 percent of the total sugar consumption in China, considers the sugar business as one of its core areas for future expansion.

"Bright Food aims to double its sales in the next three to four years through both organic growth and acquiring new businesses," Wang Zongnan, chairman of Bright Food, said earlier.

The company said it will explore mergers and acquisitions to quicken its development.