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.
''Apart from the smaller volume compared to last year, we are on schedule with the processing'', says Arno Huijsmans, Director of Agricultural Affairs of Cosun Beet Company. ''The campaign is even going a bit faster than last season.'' The end of the campaign is estimated for 19 January for the factory in Hoogkerk. The other factory in Dinteloord will end earlier. This will be before 21 January, as planned.
Cosun had predicted the lower beet yield compared to the previous season. ''That is partly due to the lower regrowth this campaign and the damaging effect of the leaf disease Cercospora'', says Huijsmans. The yield forecast is now 12,2 tons of sugar per hectare with 75,5 tons of beets per hectare.
Brazil
Meanwhile, sugar production in Brazil is faltering somewhat. The start of the Brazilian season in April could be called successful, but according to recent figures, that lead is increasingly being undone. According to Brazilian Unica, 1% less sugar was produced in the Central-Southern production region from April 3,7 to November compared to the same period last year. This brings the total to 39,361 million tons of sugar. In the second half of November, production was 1,084 million tons, a whopping 23,1% lower than in the same period last year.
Sugar cane processing in the region was also 2,7% lower than last year from the start of the season, bringing the processing to 602,9 million tons of sugar cane. Rainfall in Brazil delayed sugar cane processing in November. On the other hand, some extra moisture in the soil gives hope for upcoming harvests.
The answer to the question why the price increase is not forthcoming can be found in the previous expectation. For example, analysts report that the current lower figures for Brazil are still better than what the market anticipated.
Indian production is also set to be lower than last year from the start of the 2024/25 season, with sugar production down 18% so far. Perhaps that news has caused the relatively small increase in sugar prices yesterday. All in all, the downward trend in sugar prices continues, apart from a few spikes.