The sugar beet area in the European Union will shrink by approximately 6% over the next ten years. The production decline will be even greater, due to slightly lower yields per hectare. The European Commission publishes this forecast in the EU Agricultural Outlook 2025-2035.
According to the forecast, the sugar beet area will decrease to approximately 1,42 million hectares in 2035. This represents a decrease of about 6% compared to the average cultivation area in 2023-2025. At the same time, average yields will also decline: from around 75 tons per hectare to 72,4 tons per hectare in 2035.
Production decline
The combination of smaller acreage and lower yields leads to a decline in sugar beet production of approximately 1,1% per year, or 11% over a ten-year period. According to the European Commission, this reduction in production is therefore fairly parallel to the decline in consumption in the EU. Agricultural Outlook The Commission predicts sugar consumption will reach 14,5 million tons in 2035. This represents an annual decline of approximately 0,5%.
Fierce Competition
The medium-term outlook for sugar beets in the European Union provides a clear picture of the structural challenges facing arable farming as a whole. The European Union remains a major player in the sugar market, but faces fierce competition from countries like Brazil, India, and Thailand.
These countries have strategic advantages such as lower production costs, favorable climatic conditions, and well-developed export logistics. Moreover, these countries are conquering new markets by responding to changing consumer preferences and trade agreements, the European Commission notes.
Competing countries are also strengthening their positions through developments in more sustainable sugarcane processing and biofuel production. The EU's sugar production chain, on the other hand, is being hampered by fewer available crop protection products, rising fertilizer costs, and the increasing impact of weather changes.
Consolidation
According to the European Commission, consolidation is a key route to making the European sugar sector more competitive compared to other major producing countries. The Commission also hopes for a positive contribution from new breeding techniques that should yield better beet varieties.
Unlike grains and oil crops, the sugar beet sector is clearly in a decline, driven by market, policy, and climate. This means sugar not only functions as a separate supply chain but also as an indicator of broader arable farming trends in the EU. This translates to lower production volume, but also less space in the crop rotation.
Competition in construction plan
Arable farmers are puzzling over how to fill the available land areas in 2026 with fewer potatoes and beets. However, the European Commission expects competition for a place in the crop rotation plan to remain strong in the medium term.