The EU Forecasts a Decline in Sugar Beet Cultivation Areas
In the 2024/25 marketing year, the area under sugar beet cultivation in the EU reached a six-year high of over 1.6 million hectares, following record sugar price increases last year.
This is stated in the «EU Agricultural Outlook for 2024–2035,» prepared by the European Commission.
«This led to a decrease in prices, which is expected to continue, while competition for land use by other crops will intensify. As a result, sugar beet cultivation areas are projected to gradually decline to 1.44 million hectares by 2035,» analysts note.
At the same time, sugar beet yields are expected to decline slowly due to more frequent adverse weather events and limited availability of plant protection products. However, the decline could be mitigated if alternatives to banned substances become available.
«By 2035, the average sugar beet yield in the EU is expected to stabilize at 72 tons per hectare. As a result of changes in cultivation areas and yields, sugar production in the EU will remain relatively stable, decreasing slightly from 15.4 million tons in 2022–2024 to 15.3 million tons by 2035,» the European Commission forecasts.
The EU also anticipates that population decline and a sustained trend of reduced per capita sugar consumption will lead to lower sugar consumption in the EU. Sugar consumption is expected to decrease by 0.2% annually, reaching 15.3 million tons by 2035.
«During the forecast period, sugar trade in the EU is expected to remain mostly balanced. Exports, after peaking in 2023/24, will gradually decline due to reduced production. Sugar imports are also likely to decrease, falling to 1 million tons by the end of the forecast period,» the EU concluded.