Sugar beet plantings to decline by 15-20% due to sugar export restrictions

Sugar beet plantings in Ukraine will be reduced this year. Estimates suggest that plantings could fall by 15-20%, or 50,000 hectares less than last year. The main reasons are EU sugar export quotas and farmers’ concerns about future sales prospects.

Taras Vysotskyi, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, shared these details during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine.

“There is a certain decrease in the area planted with sugar beet – possibly up to 15-20%. While the total area isn’t huge (last year’s planting covered nearly 260,000 hectares), this year’s estimates suggest that only 200,000-210,000 hectares will be sown. That’s a drop of 20%, or 50,000 hectares less,” he said.

Vysotskyi explained that the change is due to EU-imposed sugar export quotas, which have raised concerns among farmers about market access:

“This structural change reflects new restrictions – in particular, sugar export quotas to the EU. Farmers are concerned about sales channels, hence the 20% reduction in sugar beet area as a market response”.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news