First sugar beet harvesting begins in Germany with forecasts of producing 13% more sugar

The first sugar beets are already being harvested in Germany. A campaign with a good average sugar content and a good yield is expected, given that there has been a good supply of water and sufficient sunlight. The humid and warm weather that has characterized the campaign has significantly increased disease pressure, especially Cercospora. Germany expects to increase its sugar production to 4.77 Mt in the 2024/25 campaign, which represents an increase of 4.22 Mt (13%) compared to the previous campaign and compared to the average of the last five campaigns, according to the first estimates made by the German Sugar Association. The increase in sugar production is due to two factors: more sugar beets have been planted and more polarized roots. In the 2024/25 campaign, 385,596 ha have been sown compared to 364,519 ha in the previous campaign (which is a figure similar to the average of the last five campaigns). Therefore, 21,077 ha more. The expected yields in this campaign are 81.9 ...