Sugar

The German Südzucker Group saw its profits plummet in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2025/26. Operating profit fell from €155 million last year to €22 million. This was due to falling sugar prices. The sugar business suffered a loss of €56 million, compared to a profit of €59 million last year. 

The beet area at Cosun is 5% lower this year than last year. Due to the early spring, the cooperative is nevertheless counting on an above-average sugar yield that is also higher than in 2024. This will also make more press pulp available on the market.

Worldwide, sugar supplies will be depleted in the 2024/25 season. Incidentally, the fact that more sugar is being consumed than is being produced is not really noticeable on the market. In the EU, the beets for the 2025 harvest are doing relatively well. The European Commission is therefore counting on an above-average harvest.

Sugar prices on the futures markets are picking up a bit after the dip earlier this month. However, the recovery is fragile according to various analysts. The European import figures reflect the restrictions that came into effect last year on sugar from Ukraine. Closer to home, in the Netherlands, growers have been able to get the beets for the coming harvest into the ground quickly, according to figures from Cosun.

In the Netherlands, the sowing of sugar beets went smoothly. We should hold on to that a bit, because we can't rely on the sugar prices on the world market. Sugar is in the corner where the blows fall, partly due to sufficient rain in the monsoon in India and the uncertainty caused by the trade war.

The dry spring is easy for sowing sugar beets. But to let the beets grow well, a shower is now really needed. Players on the world market don't care about the dry start of the new season in the Netherlands.

Sugar markets remain volatile. Prices have fluctuated over the past two weeks. Brazilian sugar exports are declining due to a stronger real. Changing trade policies and unpredictable weather patterns continue to create uncertainty in the global sugar market. In the EU, sugar production in Poland is increasing, although sugar beet growers there face challenges.

Sugar prices rose last week from their lows in January. Production problems in Brazil and India, together with export restrictions, are supporting the price increase. At the same time, the Chinese import ban on Thai syrup could put pressure on prices. Meanwhile, German sugar producer Nordzucker ended its (exceptionally long) sugar beet campaign last week.

Royal Cosun can write solid results for 2024 in the books, but the beet price for the members has fallen sharply and the yield was also disappointing due to weather conditions. Cosun can therefore not be satisfied, says CEO Hans Meeuwis in an interview with Boerenbusiness on. In order to absorb the volatility of the sugar market and further improve its earning capacity, the cooperative group is accelerating its Unlock 30 growth strategy. Cosun wants to continue to grow in potatoes, co-products and food ingredients. Not only organically, the group is also going on a takeover hunt.

International sugar prices have fallen compared to last week. While EU sugar producers are facing lower production for 2024/25, forecasts from sugar producing countries may point to a sugar surplus.

Global sugar prices rose significantly last week, despite the resumption of Indian sugar exports and the Chinese ban on Thai sugar syrup imports. Lower sugar production in Brazil and trade challenges in Asia weighed more heavily. In the Netherlands, Cosun ended the beet campaign with disappointing yields and a lower sugar content.

Südzucker reports the first ever operational loss of the sugar division in the last quarter, as a result of the low sugar prices. With the price drop of sugar, European sugar producers expect a lower price for sugar beets this year as well. This is expected to lead to a smaller sugar beet area.

Sugar beet processing is going well, according to Cosun Beet Company. Up until last week, 75% of the area had been processed. That amounts to 5 million tonnes of sugar beets. In mid-November, the campaign was just over halfway through. The northern plots yield relatively more this year, which means that more has to be processed in that area than in the south.