EU sugar production is forecasted to increase by 3 percent compared to 2022/2023, despite a forecast 6 percent reduction of beet acreage in France, USDA reports.
Increased acreage in Poland
Beet sugar production in the EU for 2023/24 is forecast at 15.5 million tons from nearly 1.4 million hectares of sugarbeets. In the last 5 years, France accounted for 28 percent of the total EU sugarbeet area harvested on average. However, the reduced beet acreage in France is forecast to be balanced by increased plantings mainly in Poland (+ 19 percent), Spain, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary. On January 19, 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Member States cannot grant temporary emergency authorizations for the use of banned neonicotinoids on sugarbeets. This has caused many French farmers to switch to other crops.
The profitability of sugarbeet production in Poland is high relative to alternative crops such as wheat and corn. Two sugar processing plants are expected to resume operations in Romania and a potential increase in coupled support from the government could also boost beet plantings. Expected favorable prices will also encourage more farmers in Hungary and Spain to plant.
The European Union is the third largest sugar producer behind Brazil and India and is estimated to be the fifth largest importer for the second year in a row.