News Sugar
French beet yields up to 80% lower
The damage caused by the yellowing virus to sugar beets in France is enormous. Yield losses of up to 80% are reported. In extreme cases, it's not even worth calling the contractor. If nothing changes, French arable farmers threaten to give up cultivation.
French sugar beet growers have had a tough year. Sowing was done in March under very dry conditions. Just like in the Netherlands, the soil often had a bad structure after a heavy autumn and a frost-free winter. When the beet plants were on top, the first wave of aphids came over them. Due to the lack of the seed coating with neonicotinoids, damage could not be prevented.
Yield halved.
The crops recovered thanks to warm weather and a shower in time during May. At the end of the month, however, it immediately became clear that the yellowing virus was present on almost all plots. Coupled with dry growing conditions and high temperatures, beet yields lagged far behind, although large differences are noticeable within growing regions. These cannot be directly explained. Trial harvesting showed a yield loss of 30% to 40% on degraded plots. Now that the fields are being harvested, this loss is more likely to be 30% to 50%.
Hervé Fouassier is a farmer and sugar beet grower in Corbeilles, south of Paris. In the Loiret department, beet cultivation has been hit very hard. This also applies to the Fouassier plots. In addition to being a beet grower, he is chairman of the Cristal Union growers' association. "Where a hectare yield of 80 to 90 tons per hectare is normal for my company, I am now stuck at 37 tons," he tells the French news site Terre Net.
Not worth digging up
The yield loss costs the grower about €1.000. Colleagues who only harvest 15 or 20 tons wonder whether it is worth the effort to harvest their beets at all. The contractor costs €300 to €350 per hectare. These extra costs result in even more loss of yield. The extent to which the yield is lower strongly depends on the area. The damage along the Belgian border is a maximum of 5%. Particularly in the cultivation areas south and west of Paris, there is very serious damage.
France also had a very dry August and September, which did little good for the yield. When it started to rain at the end of September, it hasn't stopped. Harvesting the small beets is especially difficult on heavy soil. Farmers are in doubt. They don't want to destroy their land for a loss-making crop. Sugar levels are currently around 17%, where it is normally 18% to 19%.
Campaign reduced by 35 days
The growers are not the only ones with problems. The same applies to the sugar factories. They demand an average of 800 tons of beets per day, but growers can only supply 400 tons. Large factories, which process more than 10.000 tons per day, do not reach their capacity at all. The French sugar campaign at Cristal Union has now been reduced from 110 to about 75 days. Everyone in the sector notices the lack of 35 days. “The Corbeilles factory normally processes 1,1 million tons of beets. This year it is 700.000 to 750.000 tons.
At the beginning of August, French agriculture minister Denormandie came up with derogations for neonics in beet cultivation. However, it has not yet passed the (green) French parliament. It already caused a small earthquake in the European Union. Arable farmers in Germany and the Netherlands are also eager for such a derogation. If this exemption is not granted – or if the conditions are not workable – the consequences cannot be foreseen.
Almost a quarter want to stop
A Terre-Net survey shows that more than a third of the growers surveyed have already stopped growing. Another almost a quarter indicate that they will stop next year if the situation continues. 22% indicate that they will continue to grow. A small advantage is that the contract prices are slightly higher than last year as a result of a higher sugar price.
According to the most recent Numbers according to the MARS report, the total European beet harvest is 2% below the 5-year average. France, in particular, has lost significantly this year. As the campaign progresses, the numbers may be further revised downwards. The consequences of this for price formation are unfortunately minimal. Worldwide there is no reason for a price increase. The lack of beet sugar is supplemented by cane sugar from India and Brazil.
Niels van der Boom
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