Sugar exports from Ukraine in September 2023 amounted to 25 thousand tons. In total, since the beginning of the season (October 2022) — 427 thousand tons. This is one of the largest values of sugar exports in the entire history of the country.
The main reasons are high sugar balances at the start of the 2022/23 season, as well as high global sugar prices throughout the season. It should also be noted that from June 5 to September 15, sugar exports from Ukraine were prohibited due to the government’s fears about the shortage of the product at the end of the season and the increase in domestic sugar prices.
Considering the good profitability of growing sugar beets and sugar production in Ukraine in 2023, Ukrainian farmers significantly increased the areas under sugar beets to 250,000 hectares (184,000 hectares in 2022).
Now beet harvesting 2023 has already started. Currently, farmers completed 96,000 ha (39% of the plan) with an average yield of 47.7 t/ha.
Thus, the total harvest of beets in Ukraine in 2023 will be around 12 million tons. It will be the biggest crop since 2018. Sugar production could reach 1.6 million tons. In general, in the new season, Ukraine can export about 600 – 650 thousand tons of sugar.