BRAUNSCHWEIG (dpa-AFX) - Europe's second-largest sugar group Nordzucker ended its beet harvest and processing with losses due to difficult weather conditions in several regions. Tight energy supplies also posed particular challenges in 2022, manager Alexander Godow said Monday at the company's headquarters in Braunschweig. The company did not provide concrete estimates on the further trend in sugar prices. However, CEO Lars Gorissen stressed, "We are doing everything we can to continue on our joint path with our growers and our customers in a sustainable manner in these times marked by high inflation."

Sugarbeet yields had recently often been below the average of the previous five years - one of the main reasons for this had been extreme local drought and heat. In some countries, however, heavy rain and permafrost also played a role.

The sugar campaign usually ends around the turn of the year. At the large Uelzen plant in Lower Saxony, the last beet was not processed until the previous weekend. This delay was also due to the sub-zero temperatures in December and the subsequent thawing of crops, he said. A small amount of sugar beet that was no longer usable for food was therefore used in biogas plants, among other things.

The industry had already predicted a rather meager harvest in September. Although there was rain at the beginning of the fall in Lower Saxony, the home state of Nordzucker, after another fairly dry summer, the industry had already predicted a rather poor harvest in September. However, the umbrella organization of North German sugar beet growers had dampened expectations. In the important growth phase in July and August, it was far too dry.

Extreme weather also impacted the sugar cane harvest in Australia. In July, there were interruptions there as a result of heavy rainfall. However, yields in the cane sugar production sector developed very well. Otherwise, the losses "were not offset by higher sugar contents, so that the overall campaign result was below average," Nordzucker said. Europe's largest sugar producer, Mannheim-based Südzucker AG, had recently reported good business./jap/DP/stw