23% more sugar
Germany is heading for mega beet harvest
Nordzucker AG will start processing sugar beet in 11 of its factories on Monday 1 September. On that date, Suiker Unie will also start processing. The other locations of the German company will follow in mid-September. The campaign will start earlier this year and will last longer to process the considerably larger acreage.
Beet growers in Lower Saxony look at the harvest with mixed views. The spring started cold, with frost in April, but the crops recovered well. At the beginning of the summer, however, it was very dry. At the end of July, the expectations of the Norddeutsche Zuckerrübenanbauer (DNZ) were very good. Heavy rainfall and local flooding threw a spanner in the works. Sufficient sun is needed to quickly boost the sugar percentages.
Damage unknown
It is still difficult to say how much damage the rainfall has caused. This is because the damage pattern differs greatly per area. Some growers have had to write off their entire crop and others have only partially suffered damage. It is not certain whether all beets will be harvested at all.
Organic beets
Nordzucker AG will start processing the sugar beets on September 11 at the site in Schladen. The other factories in Nordstems, Kleinwanzleben, Uelzen and Clauen will follow in mid-September. The campaign will start earlier than in previous years and will also last longer.
Nordzucker starts processing the organic sugar beets, which takes 2 days. DNZ announced August 28 that Nordzucker will pay €14,50 for the surplus beets. This applies to the first 10% of the total volume and to a sugar percentage of 16%. For all beets above 10%, €5 per tonne is paid. Premiums for a higher sugar content and pre-delivery or late delivery are added to this.
Start Südzucker according to plan
Südzucker starts its factory in Ochsenfurt, Bavaria, 1 day earlier on September 10. A major fire was still raging there in mid-June, but according to the beet processor, everything is ready for the 2017 campaign. The total damage caused by the fire, which occurred when a storage containing 2.000 straw bales was set on fire, amounts to €10 million. The supply line with conveyor belts in particular suffered major damage.
5
million
Much more sugar
The Wirtschaftliche Vereinigung Zucker (WVZ) expects an average beet yield of 81,8 tons per hectare, with an average sugar percentage of 17,78%. Südzucker speaks of 88 tons of beets per hectare in southern Germany. This means a total sugar production of almost 5 million tons from 31,5 million tons of beets. The German acreage this year amounts to 385.000 hectares. Other institutes also speak of a total sugar yield of almost 5 million tons. This is 23% more than in 2016.
Niels van der Boom
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