The area under sugar beet has increased by almost 20% to 250 thousand hectares during the war, which has become a good diversification option for farmers who have switched from growing grain to this crop, said Yana Kavushevska, acting chairman of the board of the National Association of Sugar Producers Ukrtsukor.
“During the war, the industry demonstrated resilience and became an island of salvation for some farmers who managed to switch from growing grain to sugar beet in time,” she said at Grain Ukraine in Kyiv.
According to Kavushevska, in 2020, 216 thou hectares were planted with sugar beet in Ukraine. However, for two years in a row, the country has been allocating 250 thou hectares for this crop, which indicates an increase of almost 20%. This is due to the areas planted by independent farmers and agricultural companies that have made a conscious choice in favor of sugar beet and saw it as a profit opportunity.
The acting chairman of the board of Ukrtsukor explained the success of the industry by the favorable situation on the world market, where sugar prices have been among the highest since 2006. In addition, it was easier for Ukrainian producers to export sugar than grain.
“There were logistical problems. Of course, sugar producers, like grain producers, are interested in keeping the ports of Greater Odesa open and working properly. But exports by land were also quite active,” she stated.
Another positive factor for the revitalization of the Ukrainian sugar industry, according to the representative of the industry association, is duty-free trade with the EU, which Ukrainian producers have actively used and increased exports.
Speaking about the imposition of restrictions on Ukrainian sugar by the EU, Kavushevska noted that Ukrainian producers have resumed exporting sugar not only to the EU, but also to the Black Sea and West Africa.
“As of May, Ukraine exported 65% of sugar to the European Union, and 35% went to countries where our sugar is also in demand. In fact, in May, Ukraine set a record for monthly sugar exports: within 30 days, we exported 108 thousand tons of sugar,” the representative of the association emphasized.
Ms. Kavushevska also noted that sugar prices are currently being corrected on the global market. She admitted that the financial results for Ukrainian producers may not be as good as before. However, for the third year in a row, sugar beet will remain among the top three most profitable crops for Ukrainian farmers, which is a good alternative to grain.
The head of Ukrtsukr also emphasized the importance of cooperation with specialized European sugar producer associations, pointed out the need to integrate Ukrainian products into the EU and reminded that the industry counts on the support of the state and its trade representatives who will negotiate the revision of autonomous trade measures and the association agreement.
The National Association Ukrtsukor has asked the Cabinet of Ministers to urgently establish a zero quota on sugar exports to the European Union for 2024 due to the achievement of the maximum volume stipulated by the EU decision for the export of Ukrainian sugar to these countries in 2024, the association reported on Facebook.
“In fact, we are talking about initiating the closure of Ukraine’s border for sugar exports to the EU as soon as possible due to the fact that sugar exports have already reached 262.6 thousand tons, defined as Ukraine’s quota for 2024,” the statement said.
“Ukrtsukor believes that such an appeal is a confirmation of the constructive position of Ukrainian sugar producers and their readiness to integrate into the European sugar market and meet its requirements.
The business association reminded that on May 13, 2024, the Council of the European Union approved the extension of temporary trade liberalization measures for Ukraine for another year, until June 5, 2025. At the same time, it provided for the application of an emergency braking mechanism for particularly sensitive agricultural products, in particular sugar, if imports of these products in 2024 exceed the average imports recorded in the second half of 2021 and throughout 2022 and 2023. Similar emergency braking measures may be applied in 2025 if, in the period from January 1, 2025 to June 5, 2025, the volume of Ukrainian exports exceeds 5/12 of the quota set for 2024.
Sugar production in Ukraine as of November 9, 2020 amounted to 594,600 tonnes.
According to the website of the National Association of Sugar Producers Ukrtsukor, as of the indicated date, 30 sugar refineries operate in the country, which refined 4.03 million tonnes of sugar beet.
As it was reported with reference to Ukrtsukor, the sugar beet refining season started in the country on September 5.
Sugar production in Ukraine in 2020 is expected at the level of 1.2 million tonnes, which is 15% less than a year earlier. It is expected that 33 sugar refineries will operate this season – at the level of the previous year.
According to the State Statistics Service, the sowing area of sugar beet amounted to 218,900 hectares in 2020 – at the level of the previous year.
Sugar production in Ukraine as of September 28, 2020 amounted to 70,200 tonnes.
According to a Tuesday posting on the website of the Ukrtsukor National Association of Sugar Producers, 12 sugar refineries were operating in the country, which processed 548,900 tonnes of sugar beet.
As reported with reference to Ukrtsukor, the sugar beet processing season in Ukraine started on September 5.
Ukraine sowed some 209,000 hectares with sugar beet as of May 13, 2020, which is 5% less than in 2019, the National Association of Sugar Producers Ukrtsukor has said.
The association said in a statement on Friday that apart from a reduction in area under crops the season is also characterized by less favorable weather conditions, which, in turn, may significantly affect the crop yield.
“This year the sowing campaign was very complicated as snowless winter and the absence of precipitations caused a lack of moisture in soil. Hence, we have dust storms and dry wind. Then April drought changed with May rainfalls and freezing weather, while a part of crops was attacked by insects in Vinnytsia, Poltava and Khmelnytsky regions. All these factors may have a negative impact on growth of root crops, and as a result they will lose mass and sugar content,” Ukrtsukor analyst Nazar Mykhailovyn said.
Traditionally, the largest share of crops falls to Vinnytsia region – 23%, which is followed by Poltava region with 12.9% and Khmelnytsky region with 11.2%. Kyiv region ranked fourth with 10.8%.
As reported, sugar production in Ukraine in the 2019/2020 marketing year (MY, September-August) decreased by 19% compared to the previous MY, to 1.48 million tonnes. A total of 33 sugar refineries were operating during the season.
