Feb. 8 - Record-high yields from sugar beet fields in several countries have resulted in a large sugar output as expected.
Danisco's sugar production in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Lithuania totalled 1,069,000 tonnes of sugar in the campaign just ended. This exceeds Danisco’s total EU quota of 973,000 tonnes of sugar by close to 100,000 tonnes and is, hence, a satisfactory result, which is in line with expectations.
Executive Vice President Thomas B. Olsen elaborates on the result:
’Favourable weather conditions gave us the best possible start to the growing season and have contributed to a record-high sugar yield in several of our production countries. However, growing conditions were not optimal during the summer and autumn, which is the reason for the local variations in yields.’
’The higher yield levels overall also reflect the extensive efficiency improvements made within beet growing in our region in the past few years. In consequence, the average yield level for the 20% growers generating the highest yields is now around 11-12 tonnes of sugar per hectare in most of our production countries. Beet growing is now concentrated with farmers who focus strongly on this crop to the effect that sugar beet has become a key, stable crop in Northern Europe. This puts the sugar industry in a strong position going forward.’
’We are very pleased that following the restructuring measures launched in response to the EU sugar reform, our production is well on track.’
