The harvesters in the Netherlands and other European countries can work long days thanks to the stable autumn weather in October and early November. In our country, half of all sugar beets have now been harvested. In France, it is a different story. Persistent precipitation is plaguing the harvest progress.
Royal Cosun recently lowered the Dutch beet yield. The CBS, which published figures at the end of October, is calculating a 6% larger area (85.000 hectares) and a 3% lower harvest (6,7 million tonnes) compared to last year. Cosun thinks that both factories will process the last beets at the end of January.
Favorable circumstances
At the beginning of November, half of the national area had been harvested. Growers and contractors benefit from favourable harvesting conditions, relatively low tares and storage temperatures. The cooperative is once again conducting tests with a so-called (stationary) 'beet mouse' for cleaning and loading sugar beets from the hard surface. Last year, they also tested a cleaning machine. More than a fifth of all Cosun beets are now cleaned and loaded with a beet mouse. Because the placement of tare soil at the factories is becoming a problem, Cosun is experimenting with ways to reduce this. In addition, this results in a significant reduction in transport.
In the last week of October, the average sugar content was 16,5%. That is the highest average so far. In Groningen, the sugar content is now above 17%. Limburg and the Achterhoek stand out with the lowest sugar percentages, just above 15%. The tare percentage was 11% last week. That is very good for the time of year. The extractability index is also the highest this season so far, at 90,5.
German harvest going well
Harvesting is also going well in our eastern neighbours, reports the Verbands Rheinischer Rübenbauer. A third of the German beets have now been harvested. Because most factories started up a little earlier, the campaign can also be finished earlier, or so the idea goes. The yields are average and in line with earlier forecasts. The sugar contents are slightly below average, says VRB.
10% less allocation
Beet processor Pfeifer & Langen also reports that the campaign at their factories is going smoothly. The processor also announces that it will reduce the allocation for growers by 10% for the coming year. This has everything to do with a lower demand for sugar and falling market prices.
Not everywhere is harvesting going according to plan. For example, French beet growers in the Somme region are struggling with very wet harvest conditions that are delaying harvesting. Only 30% of the area in this region has been harvested. According to the local growers' organization, beet and sugar yields are below the five-year average. Not only due to the growing conditions but also due to the effects of the yellowing virus.