Cosun: 'Sugar beet yield forecast down'

Cosun Beet Company revised its yield forecast for sugar beet downwards this week to 13,6 tons of sugar per hectare. The reduction is largely due to the disappointing sugar content. In addition, the tare figures have risen last week.

In the first 3 weeks of the beet campaign, there has been no visible increase in sugar content, mainly due to the difficult weather conditions. It is reason for Cosun to adjust the harvest forecast downwards to 13,6 tons of sugar per hectare. "The weather is now better and the forecasts are slightly more favourable, so it is expected that the content will still rise," reports the organization. For now, Cosun is calculating with a campaign average of 16,25% sugar and a carrot yield of 83,7 tons per hectare.

In addition, the tare percentage increased to 11,5% last week. "That was unavoidable, as the harvesting conditions in many places were far from optimal," the company describes. Especially in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and the Kop van Noord-Holland, the tare percentages are high at 13,6%, 13,8% and 14,6% respectively. These are also areas where sugar levels have fallen sharply last week.

Low yields across Europe
The revenues are not only disappointing in the Netherlands. Also in the major sugar beet producing countries, such as France, Germany, Poland and Great Britain, yields are up to 15% lower. This is mainly due to the yellowing virus and the drought. Cosun expects that this could lead to a shortage in the European market.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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