News Sugar beets
Is organic beet cultivation worth an extra 50 euros?
Organic sugar beet cultivation presents a long list of challenges, but Suiker Unie is still considering entering this market. To this end, it is conducting a field trial at their factory in Anklam, Germany. Dutch beet growers thus indirectly benefit from a growing market.
The share of organic sugar in Europe is increasing. This market is now mainly filled with cane sugar. However, several European countries are starting to grow beet organically. France, Germany and Austria are the best-known examples, but organic beets are also grown in Denmark, Italy, Switzerland and Lithuania. Like this writes Jan Willem van Roessel, secretary at Royal Cosun, in the latest Cosun Magazine of September 2018.
Challenges
Suiker Unie says it is investigating the possibilities for growing, processing and marketing organic sugar beet and sugar. Cultivation has quite a few challenges; an important point is that the product must not be mixed, otherwise it is immediately non-organic. About 15 years ago, Suiker Unie grew organic beets for a short period of time, which were processed before the start of the regular campaign. However, the yields in that period are still at a (too) low level.
- Jan Willem van Roessel
The 2 factories in the Netherlands have too high a capacity to cost-effectively process the small volume of bio beet. Suiker Unie is therefore conducting the field trial at their factory in Anklam, northern Germany. This factory is much smaller. Van Roessel states that the processing will take place there, if it comes to that.
The Netherlands has a large area of organic agricultural land; certainly in the province of Flevoland, where former beet growers have traditionally been located. However, in view of the cost efficiency, it is unlikely that beets will be transported from the Netherlands to Northeast Germany. In our country, a very small area of sugar beet is grown organically for the production of apple syrup.
Market growing
The European Union (EU) imported approximately 2015 tons of organic cane sugar in 170.000, and in 2017 part of the market was filled with 3.150 hectares of organic sugar beet. This year, that number has grown to over 5.000 hectares, but it is only 0,1% of total EU production. With 1.800 hectares, Austria is the largest grower of organic beets.
In Austria, the growers are paid an extra €45 to €50 per tonne, on top of the regular price. The enthusiasm is low, while 22% of the acreage is organic. However, the majority of this is grassland. In addition, the cultivation costs are considerably higher, due to the high costs of weed control. The yield is 33% lower, compared to conventional beets.
Cercospora disease is a major threat to organic beets. Not all regions and soils are therefore suitable for cultivation. A lack of insecticides is also a challenge, as is fertilization. Suiker Unie does not say how big the trial in Anklam is.
Niels van der Boom
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