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Cosun beet price for 2024 is in free fall

12 February 2025 - Niels van der Boom - 48 comments

Sugar beet processor Cosun Beet Company announced today (Wednesday 12 February) the beet price for the 2024 harvest year. For members, this amounts to €47,25 per tonne, at 17% sugar content and 91 recoverability. With this, the cooperative is meeting its previously stated expectations. It had been clear for some time that the price level would be tempered considerably.

Due to an extremely late spring, wet summer and a lot of mold pressure in the fall, the net result for beet growers is considerably lower. With an average beet quality, the result is €43,52 per ton. All beets are settled at the member price, there are no so-called surplus beets.

No surprise
The result achieved for the standard beet price is €30,75 below that of last year. With this, Cosun leaves two years of good results behind it. A picture that was also visible in the 2012 and 2013 harvests. Once again, the price is moderating after two peak years. That this was about to happen comes as a surprise to few growers. In November last year, Cosun already issued a profit warning about the beet price for the past campaign. The activities outside the sugar market ensure that the price drop has been partially tempered.

Global demand for sugar has fallen. Production has also increased, both in Europe and beyond. The European sugar market reached its lowest point at the end of August, with a price that was well over €150 per tonne lower than the peak in early April. The price on the futures market in London rose again in the following two months, to €543 per tonne, before sliding to the same low as in August by the end of January.

Cosun's sugar sales will run until the third quarter of this year. The sales strategy was changed a few years ago, partly due to pressure from growers. It is now more spread out after the harvest. This also means that the current beet price may still reflect a residual effect of the price peak last spring, when prices were certainly reasonable.

Growing days cost kilos
Just like 2023, the past growing year was also challenging. This time, the devil was not in the tail. The harvest went smoothly in many places. The exception is the south and southeast of the Netherlands, where the big blows also fell in the spring. Beets were still being sown until the beginning of June. On June 12, 1.850 hectares still had to be sown! The lack of growing days is reflected in the figures. The sugar yield was 12,2 tons per hectare, 12% below the five-year average. On average, 75 tons of beet were harvested per hectare with 16,3% sugar.

Cosun has lowered the allocation percentage to 100% for the current crop year. Sugar producers across Europe are curbing the beet area to better balance supply and demand. 

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Niels van der Boom

Niels van der Boom is a senior market specialist for arable crops at DCA Market Intelligence. He mainly makes analyses and market updates about the potato market. In columns he shares his sharp view on the arable sector and technology.

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.

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48 comments
Subscriber
Call horn 12 February 2025
This is in response to it Boerenbusiness article:
[url = https: // www.boerenbusiness.nl/akkerbouw/artikel/10911887/bietenprijs-cosun-over-2024-maakt-een-vrije-val]Beet price Cosun over 2024 makes a free fall[/url]
Nice then!
Subscriber
drama 12 February 2025
what a horror barely cost price
Subscriber
drome 12 February 2025
under cost price you mean
Subscriber
time bomb 12 February 2025
They should never have taken the quota off, these are pre-war prices. There are those who only have 40/50 tons. What a drama again this year. Even with 100+ tons it is still meager.
Subscriber
laapc 12 February 2025
You just have to stop here, I really can't get out anymore. But buy an inspiration farm, where a lot of money goes to, and with which you spoil the land price in the area, what a policy. Super llb for sale.
Subscriber
the tenderloin 12 February 2025
I think the cause should be sought more in gray imported sugar from Ukraine, which makes the price unstable
Subscriber
juun 12 February 2025
well, that's part of the free market. high peaks, deep valleys.
Subscriber
time bomb 12 February 2025
10 deep valleys according to the graph, and 5 peak years, so in total: too little to live on, and too much to die from.
Subscriber
Bittersweet, Sugary Sweet 12 February 2025
I trust that Cosun will be innovative enough to produce sustainable products from sugar beets and residual products that do not directly belong to human consumption but rather to consumer products. Then after salt, the sweet will return. Contemporary agriculture has many more possibilities in all kinds of areas than just producing food. So shoulders to the wheel and head for it. New year, new opportunities.
Subscriber
juun 12 February 2025
time bomb wrote:
10 deep valleys according to the graph, and 5 peak years, so in total: too little to live on, and too much to die from.
market is only free for 8 years. otherwise you grow wheat. that costs money too.
Subscriber
juun 12 February 2025
correction that certainly costs money
Subscriber
time bomb 12 February 2025
I don't remember writing that it costs money?????
Subscriber
time bomb 12 February 2025
I don't remember writing that it costs money????? The graph shows the last 15 years, so double your 8 years, so has nothing to do with free market right? It is in the graph. 1 lean years and 5 good ones.
Subscriber
Ad 12 February 2025
Last year 43 € from side activities so actually not a great yield from the beets and that with a high sugar price. I think it comes down to the fact that the beets themselves are increasingly difficult to make profitable. Perhaps it would be better to concentrate on side activities because they will keep the beet factories going if it continues like this.
Claas 12 February 2025
Ad wrote:
Last year 43 € from side activities so actually not a great yield from the beets and that with a high sugar price. I think it comes down to the fact that the beets themselves are increasingly difficult to make profitable. Perhaps it would be better to concentrate on side activities because they will keep the beet factories going if it continues like this.
Chasing the CSM.
Subscriber
elephant in the room 12 February 2025
that sugar price is bad we already knew that. what nobody mentions is that apparently the contribution of the subsidiary is very bad. in other words aviko earns nothing. that is very strange if you look at the profit figures of for example farmfrites and the Belgian processors
Subscriber
In the cold 12 February 2025
Another (so-called) CoöpeRAtie with high profit figures, realized at our expense, does not share the profit with us, but prefers to invest it abroad.... In 1956 they might have been better off not signing the agreement that non-farmers could also become members. Membership has been eroded to such an extent that profit no longer needs to be returned to the member. And then still say that we are cooperative?
Subscriber
abn 12 February 2025
that club lost contact with its founders years ago. otherwise the farmers would now have 2024 billion to divide over 5
Subscriber
bert 12 February 2025
You really can't remain a farmer with this.......means that are banned, no more seed contamination, yellowing etc... expensive seed storage..etc no......
Subscriber
juun 12 February 2025
time bomb wrote:
I don't remember writing that it costs money????? The graph shows the last 15 years, so double your 8 years, so has nothing to do with free market right? It is in the graph. 1 lean years and 5 good ones.
there is a correction below.
Subscriber
juun 12 February 2025
Ad wrote:
Last year 43 € from side activities so actually not a great yield from the beets and that with a high sugar price. I think it comes down to the fact that the beets themselves are increasingly difficult to make profitable. Perhaps it would be better to concentrate on side activities because they will keep the beet factories going if it continues like this.
that simple nonsense started again. the results of the beets are also in the part on top of the basic price. I think aviko was 40% sugar branch 37% or something like that then or maybe both a bit more but there was not much difference then. and the rest the other co companies. maybe pay attention at the meeting and remember something.
Subscriber
I don't get it 12 February 2025
so if those companies contribute 60% on a price of 65 euros that is approximately 35 euros. if they now contribute 35 euros again the beet price that cosun has achieved is 12.......
Subscriber
Ad 12 February 2025
juun wrote:
Ad wrote:
Last year 43 € from side activities so actually not a great yield from the beets and that with a high sugar price. I think it comes down to the fact that the beets themselves are increasingly difficult to make profitable. Perhaps it would be better to concentrate on side activities because they will keep the beet factories going if it continues like this.
that simple nonsense started again. the results of the beets are also in the part on top of the basic price. I think aviko was 40% sugar branch 37% or something like that then or maybe both a bit more but there was not much difference then. and the rest the other co companies. maybe pay attention at the meeting and remember something.
Maybe look at the papers again and try to read everything carefully again or perhaps have it read aloud
biet 12 February 2025
downright awful they thought they would end up around 50-55 the suffering was still somewhat bearable. but as a grower you can't act on this ..... in this way money just has to be added I can't rearrange myself that my accountant has done. My bank can't either / when I go to my lmb everything is also tapped off and the grower himself has to work for nothing again as the only one
Subscriber
juun 12 February 2025
Ad wrote:
juun wrote:
Ad wrote:
Last year 43 € from side activities so actually not a great yield from the beets and that with a high sugar price. I think it comes down to the fact that the beets themselves are increasingly difficult to make profitable. Perhaps it would be better to concentrate on side activities because they will keep the beet factories going if it continues like this.
that simple nonsense started again. the results of the beets are also in the part on top of the basic price. I think aviko was 40% sugar branch 37% or something like that then or maybe both a bit more but there was not much difference then. and the rest the other co companies. maybe pay attention at the meeting and remember something.
Maybe look at the papers again and try to read everything carefully again or perhaps have it read aloud
you do that first because that is only told at the circle meeting. there is little of it in the annual accounts. the fact that it is not there does not mean that it is so. and much too simplistic reasoning.
Claas 12 February 2025
Op
Claas 12 February 2025
Of course, there is an accounting fiscal story behind it. Dividends from participations cannot be taxed with costs because it is net money. The sugar factory is therefore the donkey that pulls the cart and must bear all deductible costs of research and overhead. That is why the guaranteed price will never exceed 40 euros.
Subscriber
juun 12 February 2025
I looked up the articles of association of last year's meeting because I remember a question was asked about it. One of the CFOs said that last year 15 euros was paid from non-sugar activities. The rest came from sugar. So, say 63 euros.
Subscriber
pimple 12 February 2025
so if that were the case again then cosun sold the beets for 32 euros. while german beets are contracted for 50 euros per ton. nice then
Subscriber
follower 12 February 2025
this year aviko should be able to contribute more than 15 euros. after all, the competition made much higher profits last year than in previous years. people are talking about the best fries year ever in terms of profitability. they have a lot to explain in the meeting. is simply a failure to perform and that is how beet cultivation in the Netherlands will stop automatically. will rent out for bulb land. no work, no costs and 5000 euros per ha
Subscriber
frog 12 February 2025
pock wrote:
so if that were the case again then cosun sold the beets for 32 euros. while german beets are contracted for 50 euros per ton. nice then
Add the costs of the so-called festive year, including the expensive party, and see what comes of it. I think our cooperative should pay more attention to the pennies.
Subscriber
sugar daddy 12 February 2025
no more junkets
Claas 12 February 2025
juun wrote:
I looked up the articles of association of last year's meeting because I remember a question was asked about it. One of the CFOs said that last year 15 euros was paid from non-sugar activities. The rest came from sugar. So, say 63 euros.
If you look at the term quotes in the article you will see that the sugar price has dropped from around 700 to 500. That is 33 euros per ton of standard beet of 17%. So of that 63 euros there is still 30 left for the beet price. That is 5 euros loss on guaranteed price. The rest comes from dividend contribution. Is around 13 euros for average quality.
Subscriber
bert 12 February 2025
frog wrote:
pock wrote:
so if that were the case again then cosun sold the beets for 32 euros. while german beets are contracted for 50 euros per ton. nice then
Add the costs of the so-called festive year, including the expensive party, and see what comes of it. I think our cooperative should pay more attention to the pennies.
indeed party...movie ..logo...
Noord 13 February 2025
juun wrote:
time bomb wrote:
10 deep valleys according to the graph, and 5 peak years, so in total: too little to live on, and too much to die from.
market is only free for 8 years. otherwise you grow wheat. that costs money too.
S#fferd, how silly. Fortunately I stopped this Fata morgana 8 years ago. More wheat in and cash with the potatoes for years. What a ton of beets yields doesn't interest me one bit. Beets are simply too cheap to dispose of.
Subscriber
sugar daddy 13 February 2025
yes that movie I also found a low point I don't know who it was meant for but I hope not for the members. how bad and fake
Subscriber
juun 13 February 2025
Claas wrote:
juun wrote:
I looked up the articles of association of last year's meeting because I remember a question was asked about it. One of the CFOs said that last year 15 euros was paid from non-sugar activities. The rest came from sugar. So, say 63 euros.
If you look at the term quotes in the article you will see that the sugar price has dropped from around 700 to 500. That is 33 euros per ton of standard beet of 17%. So of that 63 euros there is still 30 left for the beet price. That is 5 euros loss on guaranteed price. The rest comes from dividend contribution. Is around 13 euros for average quality.
term quotation is not relevant for europe. it is only a floor in case of oversupply in europe. when there was a shortage the eu quotation was between 800 and 850 euro. short term has been at one euro for a while.
Subscriber
juun 13 February 2025
now it is known that for the current sugar prices not much is earned on the sugar. if this continues for a while a number of factories will close. cosun has efficient factories in that respect so they are fine with that.
beet grower 13 February 2025
where is the part that said that something would be transferred in the price from 2023 to 2024, was that 5 euros, was that more, was that less, all very opaque
Subscriber
The brown 13 February 2025
Why is there such secrecy about Aviko's contribution to the beet price? The processors from Belgium and the Netherlands (farm) are simply published. Then you can also compare whether Aviko is doing well or not. Now there is secrecy which gives the feeling that they have something to hide. Do they not make as much profit as their competitors? Do they actually make more profit, which makes the potato grower think that he is being...? Does Cosun itself skim off too much to be able to pay its overhead costs? It all remains shrouded in mist and that should not happen with a cooperative. All very suspicious
Subscriber
Stupid lump 13 February 2025
Due to an extremely late spring, wet summer and a lot of mold pressure in the fall, the net result for beet growers is considerably lower. Strange, late spring, wet summer, mold pressure is on the grower's plate, right??? It has nothing to do with the sale of sugar, right??? I have not read anywhere that Cosun is taking care of these costs. The grower is taking care of this, entrepreneurial risk. Cosun cannot blame the poor payout prices on these circumstances. You may wonder, are we as growers being screwed by the "made up" circumstances......
Subscriber
time bomb 13 February 2025
Stupid lump is right, but that does give food for thought. The beet cultivation was particularly bad last season in terms of price. Diseases and late sowing and so on, is completely separate from the processing factories. This is a business risk, but if you hit it, it hurts. I think this has become a structural problem. For myself, I never see the beet price rising above €50,-, unless there are alternatives to sugar, but I can't think of any. Plastic substitutes? So that no more plastic particles enter our bodies. That is currently the hot topic.
Subscriber
Jan Bekkens 13 February 2025
Cosun's total costs rose by 100 million last year, divided by 7 million beets, which is about 15 euros. Add wage increases and lower sugar prices and...
Subscriber
Eagle 13 February 2025
paid green manure
biet 13 February 2025
can't just make a lot of profit cosun a super year and leave the grower with a sad price far below cost price??? this is the world upside down
Subscriber
jk 13 February 2025
juun wrote:
now it is known that for the current sugar prices not much is earned on the sugar. if this continues for a while a number of factories will close. cosun has efficient factories in that respect so they are fine with that.
if Cosun doesn't make it, the other European factories will have been ruined long ago. However, the import of Ukrainian sugar, produced under completely different requirements, but allowed on the market here, is seriously playing tricks on us! Cosun, to the lobby!
Subscriber
Ruud 13 February 2025
jk wrote:
juun wrote:
now it is known that for the current sugar prices not much is earned on the sugar. if this continues for a while a number of factories will close. cosun has efficient factories in that respect so they are fine with that.
if Cosun doesn't make it, the other European factories will have been ruined long ago. However, the import of Ukrainian sugar, produced under completely different requirements, but allowed on the market here, is seriously playing tricks on us! Cosun, to the lobby!
Try to intercept those shipments from Ukraine and dump a can of diesel on them. Those Poles knew how to handle that grain too.
Subscriber
William of Oranlea 14 February 2025
Don't beat around the bush. We have an efficient transport system. We have 2 super efficient factories, so the sugar production is well organized. But then. Where is the added value of that sugar. A lot has been rigged up at Cosun, but to the glory of what. Unlock 25, Unlock 30. Go ahead. But the basis seems to have been forgotten. Looking purely at the bare beet price, beet cultivation is on its deathbed. Thanks to the added value of the secondary activities, most growers are just breaking even this year or not. It would be a crying shame if beet cultivation stopped after 125 years. Cosun directors, there is work to be done. Don't just blame the bad beet price on the bad sugar prices, that's too easy. Mind you. Continuing like this will lead to the last Unlock. Good luck and with good management (it really isn't easy) there can be a party at Cosun again in 25 years.
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