European sugar prices have hit record highs, well above soaring global markets, due to a sugar deficit in the bloc, linked notably to falling output in France where farmers have been deterred by poor harvests in recent years.
High sugar prices at a time when grain prices have fallen could make farmers favour beets in their rotations, sugar beet growers said.
The French sugar beet crop area fell to a 14-year low this year.
"We must be careful not to fall into the opposite extreme," Franck Sander, chairman of French sugar beet union CGB, told Reuters, warning that a rise in area could make EU prices slump.
Saint Louis Sucre closed two factories in 2019 as part of a wider restructuring plan at Suedzucker, Europe’s largest sugar refiner.
Persons:
Saint Louis Sucre, Germany's Suedzucker, Saint, Louis Sucre, rapeseed sowings, Franck Sander, Sybille de La, Nigel Hunt, Michael Hogan, Sharon Singleton
Organizations:
Reuters, European Union, Thomson
Locations:
France, Ukraine, Suedzucker, Poland, London, Hamburg