EU sees 2% increase in beet production in 2024/25 and greater sugar supply

PARIS (Reuters) - Sugar beet area and production will increase by 2% in the European Union next season thanks to favorable market conditions and despite a delay in sowing due to wet soils, the European Commission said on Friday. In its spring short-term outlook, the Commission estimated the area sown to sugar beet at 1.495 million hectares and production at 113 million metric tons, an increase of 2.3 million tons from the previous year. Productivity is expected to remain stable this year, at 75.7 tonnes per hectare, despite the increased risk of damage caused by aphids, which transmit a viral disease, in some EU countries. For the current 2023/24 season, the Commission estimated EU sugar production at 15.6 million tonnes, an increase of 7% after a sharp decline last season, mainly due to an increase in sugar beet area in Poland , Hungary and Romania and a recovery in incomes in Italy, Germany and France. EU sugar exports are expected to rise 77% to a five-year high of 1.1 million ...