News Sugar beets
How are European sugar beets doing?
Like other crops, sugar beets are also negatively affected by widespread drought in Europe. The first trial harvesting figures in Europe show that the carrot yield is well below average.
In its July forecast, the European Commission was still positive about the 2019 beet harvest in Europe. It is estimated that 1,54 million tons of beets are harvested from 1.202 million hectares. Last year that was 1.087 million tons of 1,62 million hectares. As is known, the acreage in the important beet countries has decreased. With a minus of 33.500 hectares, France contributes the most, followed by Germany with 10%.
Less yield in Belgium
The Belgian sugar beet processor Tiense Suiker launched their first sampling done. The carrot and sugar yield is approximately 1 tonne lower than last year. At the end of July, the carrot yield was 48 tons, compared to 47,5 tons last year. With a sugar percentage of 16%, the sugar yield (7,7 tons) is also lower. In 2018, the sugar content was 18,7% and the yield was 8,9 tons of sugar. The plots do have considerably more leaf mass.
Tiense Suiker reports that the sampling took place just after the rain, which meant that the crop was not able to really recover. Also, the differences per plot are sometimes very large.
German figures confirm the picture
This picture corresponds to the German trial harvesting figures, which, among others, has seed company Strube published† It is clear from these figures that the areas with more precipitation have benefited considerably from this. For example, in Bavaria there was 100 millimeters more precipitation than in the East German Saxony-Anhalt, so that the carrot yield in the south of Germany is almost double that around Leipzig.
The lowest figures come from southeastern Germany, with a carrot yield of 30 tons per hectare and an extremely high sugar percentage of 21%. In Central Germany, the yields are considerably higher at 40 tons and almost 50 tons. In Bavaria, the carrot yield is heading towards 60 tons per hectare. In all cases, these figures are below the multi-year average. Also, the higher the carrot yield, the lower the sugar percentage.
Varying Yields
The yield figures from the Franconia region, in Bavaria, to show a less positive result than with Strube. Here the first sample comes at 48 tons per hectare, with 17,3% sugar. That is good for a sugar yield of 8,4 tons per hectare. The 5-year average is 53,5 tons per hectare, which means that 2019 now scores 10% lower.
No trial harvesting figures are yet available from Poland. The crops had a hard time this spring due to a combination of drought and wind. It is estimated that 5.000 hectares have been lost. The precipitation in May has given the crops a boost, but the heat in July and drought have a negative effect on the crop. The Polish government services have not yet ventured a statement about the proceeds.
Situation in the Netherlands
Like the Netherlands, France has not yet published any figures on beet yields. Cosun is expected to issue a forecast in mid-August. Last year, the revenue forecast was sharply revised downwards. Especially in the eastern part of the Netherlands, the beets are severely affected by the drought. In the clay areas, the crops have improved somewhat after the rain.
It is not only drought that dominates beet cultivation. For example, the Ukrainian sugar producers' association Ukrtsukor reports that, as a result of the heavy rainfall last spring, the beet yield is lower. They forecast a yield of 1,1 million tons of sugar, compared to 1,8 million tons last year. As a result, consumption exceeds production in the country.
Niels van der Boom
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