Sugar beet cultivation in Europe has been hampered in recent years by various factors. Not only the shrinkage in the crop protection package, but also the heat and drought have had their impact in recent years. This will result in significantly lower European sugar production. In the Netherlands, growers have to hurry to guarantee quality.
The total sugar beet area in Europe is expected to slowly decrease to 10 million hectares over the next 1,45 years. Total sugar production will drop to 15,5 million tons. This is what the European Commission reports in a report on agricultural prospects. In the 2019/20 season, production was still 18 million tons of sugar with approximately 1,7 million hectares of sugar beet. Growers are expected to switch to other crops due to the lack of proper crop protection.
Average yield decreases
According to the report, lower average yields are also one of the reasons why the EU can produce less sugar in the future. In the coming years, the average sugar beet yield in the EU is expected to stabilize at approximately 73,5 tonnes per hectare. This does not take into account weather influences such as high temperatures and drought. “Sugar beet is among the EU crops with the most uncertain yields over the next 10 years,” said the report published today (December 8).
European sugar consumption is expected to decline faster than production. Importing sugar by the EU could therefore be a thing of the past and sugar could even be exported. n.
Hurry with beet harvest
The beet campaign is going smoothly and the figures such as the sugar percentage and the tonnes are also good. However, it is advised to harvest beets as soon as possible in view of the temperatures that may drop below zero in the near future. With 15.000 hectares still to be harvested, a lot still needs to be done according to Cosun Beet Company.
The average sugar content in Dutch beets was 48% last week (week 16,8). This amounts to 16,9% for the entire beet campaign. The tare percentage has increased in recent weeks and was 48% in week 12, the highest of this season. The average tare percentage of the entire campaign is 10%. The average recoverability index remains 90,5%.
Oil price puts pressure on sugar prices
The price of crude oil has been falling since early November and this week it fell again in large steps. The sugar market is partly affected by this. The lower this is, the more interesting it becomes for Brazilian sugar cane processors to crush sugar cane into sugar. Using sugar cane for the production of biodiesel and ethanol is less interesting due to the low crude oil price. However, the production season in Brazil is almost coming to an end. There is currently no downward trend in sugar prices due to cheaper oil. This is also because at the same time there are reports of lower sugar production estimates in important countries. This ensures that the sugar price remains stable at the moment.
Today, the March contract for white sugar in Europe opened at $538 per tonne. At the time of writing that is $543,70 per tonne. Over the past 3 weeks the quotation has fluctuated between $530 and $545 per tonne.
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