Campaign with hurdles
British Sugar pumps money into sugar production
The sugar beet campaign in England is not without a struggle. As in the Netherlands, the various factories had to deal with start-up problems. Sugar producer British Sugar announces that it is investing money in all 4 locations.
In total British Sugar is putting £250 million, or €283 million, into the 4 factories it has. The investment is spread over a period of 5 years and is intended to renew machines, so that they can run more efficiently without problems. Despite the problems at the start of the campaign, beet processing is now ahead of schedule, spokesman Colm McKay told Farmers Weekly.
283
million
Farmers disadvantaged by bankruptcy
In addition to problems with sugar beet processing, British Sugar has faced another setback. One of the major partners: M&J Haulage was declared bankrupt in early October after it lost a major deal.
In England, large contractors are often directly linked to the factory. His plans are the harvesting, loading and transport himself and take care of all branches of sport. If one major player goes bankrupt, this is a disaster for the affiliated growers.
NFU Sugar, the sugar branch of farmer's advocacy group NFU, has taken measures to solve the problem. It is not easy to find a large transport company that can transport the beets at short notice.
Reding is going well
British Sugar hopes to put all its problems behind it now. Conditions for harvesting are good and sufficient beets are supplied at the 4 locations. The average sugar content for all locations was 17,8% at the beginning of November.
Niels van der Boom
© 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.