EU: Sugar beet harvest in ice and snow, good prices and lots of sugar

Wet at the start and wet at the end, the sugar beet year 2023 was challenging, the beet farmers' organizations reported in their December newsletter. The harvest in particular was subject to a variety of weather conditions. While the soil was still dry at the first harvest and delivery dates in September - with corresponding clearing problems and crop losses, from mid-October onwards there was an excess of the longed-for rainfall. The sometimes massive rains continued until the end of the year and significantly delayed the harvest. Even in the eastern “dry areas” of the Weinviertel and around Vienna it was often only after Christmas that the “last turnip” was announced. Compared to the Central European beet regions, which also suffered from adverse weather conditions, the conditions in Austria were still significantly better. The two Agrana sugar factories in Leopoldsdorf im Marchfeld and in Tulln did not have to reduce processing during any phase of the campaign, because the ...