The harvesting machines 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 beet has already been harvested. In France, it's a different story. Persistent rainfall is plaguing the progress of the harvest.
Royal Cosun recently lowered the Dutch sugar beet yield once again. The CBS, which published their figures at the end of October, estimates a 6% larger area (85,000 hectares) and a 3% lower yield (6.7 million tons) compared to last year. Cosun believes that both factories will process the last beet by the end of January.
Favorable conditions
By early November, half of the national area had been harvested. Growers and contractors benefit from favorable harvesting conditions, relatively low impurities, and storage temperatures. Once again, the cooperative is conducting tests with a (stationary) beet mouse for cleaning and loading sugar beet from the hard surfaces. Last year, it also tested a cleaning machine. More than a fifth of all Cosun beets are now cleaned and loaded with a so-called 'beet mouse.' As the disposal of impurities near the factories becomes a problem, Cosun is experimenting with ways to reduce this. Moreover, this results in a significant reduction in transportation.
In the last week of October, the average sugar content was 16.5%. This is the highest average so far. In Groningen, sugar contents are now above 17%. Limburg and the Achterhoek stand out with the lowest sugar percentages, just above 15%. The impurity rate was 11% last week, which is very good for this time of year. The extraction rate of 90.5 is also the highest so far this season.
German harvest progressing smoothly
According to the Verbands Rheinischer Rübenbauer, the harvesting is also progressing smoothly in our neighboring country. A third of the German beet has now been harvested. Because most factories started a bit earlier, the campaign can also be concluded earlier, that's the idea. Yields are average and in line with previous forecasts. The sugar content is slightly below average, according to VRB.
10% reduction in allocation
Sugar processor Pfeifer & Langen also reports that the campaign at their factories is progressing well. It also announces a 10% reduction in allocation for growers for the coming year. This is all due to a lower demand for sugar and declining market prices.
Not everywhere is the harvesting going according to plan. French beet growers in the Somme region are struggling with very wet harvesting conditions, which are slowing down the harvest. Only 30% of the area in this region has been harvested so far. According to the local growers' organization, beet and sugar yields are below the five-year average. This is not only due to the growing conditions but also to the effects of the yellowing virus.
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