2012 Sugar beet acreage to decrease in Ukraine

Sugar beet acreage in Ukraine in 2012 will decrease to 500 thousand hectares against last year's 544 thousand hectares, deputy director general of the national association of sugar producers Ukrtsukor, Petro Borysiuk said during the third forum Agro 2012: Evolution of Agrarian Markets, which completed its work in Kyiv.

"Due to the fact that the export of sugar is not provided and a large amount of this product remains on the Ukrainian market, it is not necessary to sow more than 500 thousand hectares of sugar beet," he said.

According to Borysiuk, up to 60% of the area under this crop in 2012 will be planted by sugar mills and sugar companies. "This year we see the planting of sugar beet by sugar companies and sugar mills on an area of up to 300 thousand hectares," he predicted.

Ukrtsukor also forecasts launching 78 sugar mills in the new season against 77 last year.

According to expert expectations, the sweet root crop this year will reach 35 tons/ha (in 2011 - 36.3 tons/ha) due to worse weather conditions than last year.

As previously reported, the production of beet sugar in Ukraine in the new marketing year (September 2012 - August 2013) can be reduced by 14.2% as compared to the current season, to about 2 million tons.

According to Ukrtsukor, gross yield of sugar beet is expected in the amount of 18 million tons, including 16.6 million tons for recycling.