The Cosun Beet Company factories in Groningen and Dinteloord started up again today (17 September) for the 2024 beet campaign. That is three days earlier than last year. In Germany, various processors have already been working on the new harvest for ten days. In many places, it started with lower yields, both in root and sugar yields, due to a late sowing date and high disease pressure.
This message has been updated following new information from Cosun Beet Company.
Cosun Beet Company is sticking to the yield forecast of 79 tonnes per hectare, which it already expected in July. That is six tonnes below the five-year average. Cosun expects 13 tonnes of sugar per hectare from a total of 7,1 million tonnes of beets. "The area has increased by 5% this year, which makes a higher (sugar) yield obvious. Due to the late sowing, that is estimated to be 7% less," says CEO Paul Mesters.
The sowing period lasted three months instead of three weeks. This has led to large regional differences, which have not occurred in the last twenty years. Due to the lower yield, the campaign lasts 127 days instead of 138 days last year.
Today is @merijn_vos started harvesting the sugar beets for @CosunBeetCo #KleinTengemeten #Vervaet harvest2024 pic.twitter.com/h6iOrI7Nyk
— Leen Vos (@Leen_Vos) September 16, 2024
sweet beets
In Germany, several factories have been processing sugar beets for some time. Sometimes it involves organic beets. In Anklam in East Germany, Cosun started processing on 11 September.
Trial harvest figures from early August show a carrot yield of 56 tonnes per hectare, which is lower than last year. The measured sugar content of 16,2% was significantly higher. Cosun assumes that it is now around 18%.
Nordzucker started processing in Opalenica, near Poznan, Poland, at the end of August. The factories in Germany, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden and Slovakia will follow shortly thereafter. According to Lars Gorissen, CEO of Nordzucker, the trial harvesting figures show above-average carrot and sugar yields at the start of the campaigns in Europe.
More beet
The trade association Wirtschaftliche Vereinigung Zucker assumes an average yield of 81,9 tonnes per hectare in Germany this year. That is 7,6% more than the five-year average of 76,1 tonnes per hectare. The sugar content is 17,2% slightly lower than the average of 17,38%. Thanks to a significantly increased area of 385.596 hectares (+21.000 hectares), an estimated 31,59 million tonnes of beets will be harvested this year. An increase of 6% compared to last year, when 29,81 million tonnes were harvested. These tonnes are good for 4,77 million tonnes of sugar, compared to 4,22 million tonnes last year.
However, the trade association is concerned about crop health. Cercospora in particular has struck hard due to a combination of moisture and high temperatures. In southern Germany, damage by cicadas occurs and the yellowing virus also costs yield. Growers' organizations DZV therefore insist on a well-stocked toolbox with crop protection products, which are currently not working adequately.
Precipitation
For this reason, Pfeifer & Langen started monitoring the cicadas this year. In their working area, the beet crops have been severely affected by weather extremes. Sowing was late, until the end of May, which means that crop growth is two to three weeks behind. Only in the area around the factory in Könnern in Saxony-Anhalt did the start under good conditions. The campaign started there on 10 September. The location near Bielefeld also started on that date. Appeldorn followed two days later and the last factories, along the Dutch border in Jülich and Euskirchen, will follow on Wednesday.
Despite the late sowing, the campaign started a little earlier, so as not to push it back too much. Pfeifer & Langen is calculating yield figures that are just above the multi-year average. The sugar content in particular is difficult to predict.
Südzucker corrects figures
In East Germany's Plattling, Südzucker also started the campaign on 10 September. It has not yet been announced when the campaign will start at Tiense Suiker in Belgium. Iscal Sugar will start processing on 18 September and expects a campaign of 115 days. Südzucker did announce on Monday 16 September that it would be adjusting its profit forecast downwards as a result of lower sugar prices. The company's sugar division is even expected to make a loss in the second half of the financial year, which runs until February.
The latest quarterly figures show a result that has more than halved compared to last year, by €115 million. As a result, the share fell by more than 5%, causing trading in the share to be temporarily halted. For 2024/25, the group now expects a turnover of between €9,5 and €9,9 billion. Previously, the expected result was still above €10 billion. The bottom line is expected to be €172 to €275 million in net profit, compared to the €500 to €600 million that was previously expected. According to the company, the reasons for the significantly lower profit forecast are mainly the lower world sugar prices and uncertainties surrounding the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East.