Hamburg: In its third harvest forecast released on Wednesday, Germany’s sugar industry association WVZ anticipates a notable increase in refined sugar production from beets for the concluding 2023-24 season.
The projection stands at approximately 4.24 million metric tonnes, reflecting a 9.8% surge compared to the 3.86 million tonnes recorded in the previous season.
This latest estimate marks a slight adjustment from the association’s October forecast, which initially indicated a production of 4.36 million tonnes. The downward revision is attributed to the impact of autumn rain and insufficient sunshine, factors that diminished the sugar content in beets.
The ongoing sugar beet harvest in Germany is on track to conclude in the coming weeks, with the association noting that while beet size benefited from autumn rain, the deficiency in sunlight contributed to a reduction in beet content compared to earlier predictions.
According to the latest forecast for the current season, the association projects the delivery of 28.85 million tonnes of beets to German sugar factories for processing. Although this figure is slightly lower than the October forecast of 28.87 million tonnes, it represents a significant increase from the 25.36 million tonnes processed in the preceding season.
