Sugar market in the crisis: Agrana is fighting for the future in Leopoldsdorf!

Sugar market in the crisis: Agrana is fighting for the future in Leopoldsdorf!

Leopoldsdorf, Österreich - Sugar beet production in Austria is facing a serious turning point. As noe.orf.at , the sugar beet campaign at the Agrana locations in Tulln and Leopoldsdorf ended in early February. 3.3 million tons of sugar beet were processed in 137 days. This is a significant increase compared to the previous year, where 2.6 million tons were processed. However, Agrana had to deal with bad weather conditions, especially heavy rains at the beginning of the harvest that affects sugar beet quality. The sugar content fell to around 15 percent - well below the previous year's value of 17 percent.

falling acreage and decline in sales

For the coming season, Agrana expects a harvest of only around 300,000 tons of sugar. The acreage for sugar beet is massively reduced from 42,500 hectares in the previous year to around 28,000 hectares. This decline is due to high import quantities from Ukraine that put pressure on the European sugar market. Due to the increase in the duty -free limit by the European Commission, the situation for domestic beet farmers is extremely tense. They demanded a return to an upper limit that has been exceeded by Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, as confirmed by Bauernzeitung.at

After a passed crisis year, in which the beet recreation area could be increased to 38,000 hectares, the current cultivation at around 28,000 hectares at the lowest level has been located since 2019. The promised delivery law will be reduced to just 270,000 tons next year, which is a challenge for German sugar producers. Agrana plans to continue to observe the situation closely and will decide whether structural measures are necessary. The uncertainty remains because the beet farmers rely on future market developments that will decide whether and how production must be adapted.