many obstacles
Suiker Unie keeps the back door open for organic sugar
Despite the fact that various European countries process or intend to process organically grown sugar beet, Suiker Unie says it has no concrete plans for bio sugar in the Netherlands. The sugar producer confirms this to Boerenbusiness† However, the back door remains open and Suiker Unie will not write off the cultivation.
Made at the end of last year Nordzucker known to start organic sugar beet cultivation in 2017. A similar trial is underway in Austria and it was recently announced that French growers also see some benefit. Sugar beet is also grown on a small scale in the Netherlands as a raw material for the production of apple syrup. The chance that Suiker Unie will extract sugar from organically grown beets on an industrial scale is small, however.
door do not close
Douwe Monsma, owner of organic farm NZ27 in Zeewolde, grows sugar beet for the production of apple syrup. The area for this is increasing slightly. Monsma also says it has discussed the cultivation of organic sugar beet with Suiker Unie. So far, no concrete plans have emerged. Gert Sikken, director of agricultural affairs at Suiker Unie, confirms the story, but also says that the company has no concrete plans to get back into organic sugar. “We are not closing the door completely, but we don't see any opportunities in the short term,” Sikken briefly summarizes.
Processing a problem
In the past, Suiker Unie has gained sufficient experience with the organic cultivation of beets and paid tuition fees. Cultivation was stopped in 2004. One of the bottlenecks is processing the beets. The 2 Dutch factories are geared to processing huge volumes. A relatively small amount of bio beet, in the past 12.000 tons, is not profitable and difficult to schedule. “The beets were then processed before the regular campaign,” explains Sikken. “I don't think Südzucker has ever stopped growing organic beetroot. They process the beets in their smallest factory, before the start of the regular campaign. Nordzucker, I believe, has similar plans. The initiative from France is unknown to me. Alternative ways of producing sugar on a small scale are possible, but they all need to be worked out further.”
Balance is crucial
Sikken does not dare to make any statements about whether the market is indeed ripe for bio sugar. He sees opportunities and threats: “To make beet cultivation interesting, you have to compete with the balance of vegetable crops. The question is whether this will work. In addition, leaf fungi, which we have increasingly noticed in recent years, are a challenge for organic cultivation. From that point of view, processing early, before the campaign, is not that crazy.”
This article is a response to: Is the time ripe for organic sugar production?
Niels van der Boom
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