Nordzucker Post 1/2025 - 23 January 2025
Beet campaign still in full swing – expected to finish in mid-February
High yields, good beet quality and very good processing levels at the sites – a very long campaign is drawing to a close. It will finish in mid-February.
“Beet processing is running at a consistently high and stable level in all factories,” emphasises Alexander Godow, Chief Operating Officer of Nordzucker AG. The factories are performing well across all regions. This applies in particular to the German factories. Due to the four-week breakdown of the extraction tower in Schladen, the beet had to be distributed among the four other German Nordzucker sites at short notice. “This was an enormous challenge at the start of the campaign. The interaction between logistics and production worked extremely well. In addition, our investments in Uelzen and Nordstemmen were able to prove their efficiency from the outset,” emphasises Godow. In Finland, the campaign was already completed before Christmas, the other European Nordzucker countries will follow suit by the end of January, and the campaign in the German plants is expected to end in mid-February.
Above-average yield – low sugar content
“We are satisfied with the progress to date. The beet yield is above average, but the sugar content is below the five-year average – and below our expectations,” says Lars Gorissen, CEO of Nordzucker AG. The cool and wet spring slowed down plant development. Although the summer brought a growth spurt, the lack of sunshine and high water uptake meant that the sugar could not be properly formed and stored. Even in autumn, the weather did not lead to a significant increase in the amount of sugar, but it did lead to an increase in yield.
Good beet quality
The quality of the beet has been good to very good across all regions to date: “Unlike in the past two years, the weather has been playing into our hands so far,” says Alexander Godow. “We are benefiting from a mild and comparatively dry winter; even in Denmark, Sweden and Lithuania there was only light frost. In almost all regions, we had and have good harvesting conditions, which led to mostly clean beet and dry beet clamps.” Nevertheless, there is still a residual risk if there should be significant changes in weather conditions in the remaining weeks. In order to protect the beet clamps in the event of prolonged severe frost, they should be covered with plastic sheeting in addition to beet fleece if necessary. Growers in Scandinavian countries have had good experiences with this method. Nordzucker provides the plastic sheeting of charge. “A long campaign like this year’s is equally challenging for our employees in the plants and the facilities. That is why occupational safety is our top priority and I wish everyone involved every success in the last few weeks,” says Godow.
