News Sugar beets
Sugar and carrot yield beet down
Suiker Unie has adjusted the expected sugar yield per hectare for the 2019 harvest downwards. Based on the new data, the sugar yield is set at 13,5 tons per hectare. The unfavorable conditions yield fewer sweet beets. This is also the case in neighboring countries.
The yield of 13,5 tons of sugar, with a carrot yield of 82 tons per hectare, is about 500 kilos less than Suiker Unie previously forecast. However, the yield differences per region are very large. The reason for this is drought. Beet yields range from 50 to over 100 tons per hectare. This makes it difficult to make a good prognosis, reports Sugar Union.
Regrowth takes sugar
After the long period of drought, the beet leaf has started to grow again, because there has been a significant amount of precipitation. This has a detrimental effect on the sugar content. It also plays a role that it hasn't been really sunny for weeks. Finally, the temperatures at night are relatively high. It is precisely when the temperature is low at night and the weather is nice and sunny during the day that the beets produce an enormous amount of sugar. Spain is the leader in sugar production per hectare for a reason.
In addition to making these difficult calculations, Suiker Unie also has headaches when it comes to running the factories. They are currently running at full capacity, but it is difficult to maintain the supply. Because of the wet weather, the harvesters can't always get going smoothly. This affects the available supply of beet.
In week 5 of the campaign, the sugar content was 16,3%. This is the same as the week before, although the sugar content then decreased by 0,4%. Percentages of over 17% have been achieved in the province of Zeeland. Last year the national average was 17,6%. There is also a significant difference in the tare percentage. It stood at 6,6% last year. That is currently 11,8%, although that is not exceptional.
German numbers
Processors in Germany are also struggling with a low sugar content. Seed supplier Strube enters her trial harvesting early October on a carrot yield that varies between 60 tons (East Germany) and 95 tons per hectare (Bavaria). The sugar content also varies considerably in the trials, from 18% to almost 20%. However, the long-term average is in most cases higher. It's better at beet processor Pfeifer & Langen posed. There, the sugar content is above 20% at the beginning of October. The yield also varies considerably, from 35 to a maximum of 80 tons per hectare.
Niels van der Boom
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