The Dinteloord sugar cooperative Cosun has lowered the sugar beet yield for the Netherlands. This differs from the higher yields for Europe. In the meantime, world sugar prices remain under persistent pressure, partly as a result of more favourable news for Brazilian sugar cane cultivation.
This week we zoom in on the European beet yield. In the latest JRC Mars Bulletin of the European Commission, the yield forecast was 75,4 tonnes per hectare, an increase of 1% compared to the September forecast and 3% compared to the five-year average.
Adjusted downwards
On October 30, sugar producer Cosun published an update on the status of the beet campaign. The root yield varies from barely 30 to more than 100 tons of beets per hectare. This wide spread is a result of the wet winter and spring, writes Cosun. The regrowth in the first period of the campaign would also have been lower. The root yield forecast has been adjusted downwards by 2 tons, to 76,5 tons of beets per hectare. This is still higher than the European forecast of the JRC Mars Bulletin, but they estimate the Dutch yield specifically at 82 tons per hectare. According to Cosun, the sugar yield per hectare is 12,5 tons per hectare, which is 0,3 tons of sugar lower than previously expected and 1,3 tons below the five-year average.
The Brussels Sugar Committee also writes about the French beet yield. Despite the late sowing, it seems to yield more than the five-year average, with an average of 83,5 tonnes per hectare. The wet spring and the hot dry summer will probably have a somewhat less severe effect.
Pressure continues
World sugar prices remain under persistent pressure. After the weekend, a ton of sugar was listed at $483,47 on the ICE exchange in New York, while in London it was $555,50 per ton.
The latest figures from the Brazilian Unica also play a role in the pressure on sugar prices. In the first two weeks of October, 8% more sugar was produced in the central southern region of Brazil, which amounts to 2,44 million tons of sugar. Brazil is the largest producer in the world, and therefore has an influence on world sugar prices. The Brussels sugar consultation points to recent rainfall in Brazil for the current decline. On the other hand, the rain can throw a spanner in the works, as it can delay the sowing for the coming season. The Committee also writes about a higher than expected sugar (cane) yield.