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Rain hampers Europe's sugar beet harvest, erodes output

16 октября 2013 года

LONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Rains have complicated sugar beet harvesting in key European producers, and could lead to lower production this year, according to industry groups and analysts.

Wet weather has delayed beet harvesting in Russia and Ukraine, while output looks set to be lower this year in France, Germany and Poland, they said.

Russia had harvested 21.0 million tonnes of sugar beets from 55 percent of the sown area or from 0.5 million hectares as of Oct. 14, down from 23.4 million tonnes a year ago, agriculture ministry data showed. At the same date a year ago 0.6 million hectares were completed.

"Favourable weather for sugar beet harvesting and processing has come to the main sowing regions and, according to weather forecasters, is expected to stay till the end of the week," the Russian Sugar Producers' Union said in a note on Tuesday.

However, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) cut its 2013 beet sugar forecast to not less than 4 million tonnes, from its earlier forecast of 4.3 million. Last year Russia produced 4.75 million tonnes of sugar.

"Everything depends on weather in the Central Black Earth region," Evgeny Ivanov, a sugar analyst of IKAR, said.

In Ukraine, sugar refineries produced 181,900 tonnes of white beet sugar as of Oct. 11 versus more than 500,000 tonnes at the same date in 2012, according to producers' union Ukrtsukor.

"The delays in harvesting caused by rain, which we can observe this year, could potentially cut the sugar content in beet," said Mykola Vernytsky from consultancy ProAgro.

Agriculture ministry data showed farms had harvested 5.1 million tonnes of sugar beet as of Oct. 11 from 46 percent of the sown area or from 132,000 hectares.

Farms harvested 9.5 million tonnes of sugar beet from 57 percent of the area or 263,000 hectares as of Oct. 15 last year.

France is heading towards a below-average sugar beet harvest after crops failed to recover from a poor start to the growing season during a cool, damp spring.

"We're going to have a small crop, it's rather disappointing," Alain Jeanroy, director of sugar beet growers group CGB, said. "We weren't able to catch up on the growth delays we saw up to the end of June."

A wet, cold start to spring delayed planting this year and further rainy, cool conditions together with a lack of sunshine hampered plant development until summer.

Satisfactory growing conditions since then and a decision to start the harvest campaign later than last year, however, have helped boost the sugar content of beet plants, Jeanroy said.

The CGB estimates sugar production at around 13 tonnes per hectare, slightly below 13.3 tonnes last year, he said.

In Germany, a smaller sugar beet crop is expected after beets suffered from prolonged winter weather in early 2013 and a cool spring which delayed plantings and beet growth.

German refined sugar production from beets in the new 2013/14 season will fall to 3.47 million tonnes from 4.48 million tonnes in the previous 2012/13 season, German sugar industry association WVZ forecasts.

"Harvesting is under way throughout the country and conditions are generally satisfactory," said WVZ chief executive Guenter Tissen.

Harvesting has started in Poland and a reduced crop is also expected following the unfavourable spring weather.

Poland's refined sugar production will fall by about 300,000 tonnes on the year to about 1.55 million tonnes, said Rafal Strachota, deputy director of Polish sugar beet growers' association KZPBC.

Heavy rains during the spring delayed sowings in Italy, with only around 40,500 hectares under cultivation, below last year's 52,500 and the country's potential of up to 65,000, said Giovanni Bellettato of Italian beet growers' group, the ANB.

"There have been some delays because of the rains, but the harvesting is almost finished and we should be done around Oct. 20," Bellettato said.

A spokesperson for leading UK supplier British Sugar said: "Harvesting started in good conditions during mid-September. Recent rainfall has been welcomed, as ground conditions were becoming hard after a sustained period of dry weather."

In Spain, delays in sowings caused by rains have put back the start of factory operations.

Source: Reuters  |  #sugar   |  Comments: 0   Views: 89

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