In a beet campaign lasting 99 days, 2.3 million tons of CSM beet were processed into 377,000 tons of sugar. Eighty percent was processed in the sugar factory in Vierverlaten (the Netherlands) and the remaining 20% in factories in Belgium (Moerbeke) and Germany (Appeldorn and Jülich). The closure of the Breda factory in 2005 meant that CSM had to have some of the beet processed across the border.

C sugar (sugar produced above the quota) accounts for approximately 90,000 tons of this quantity. As of 22 May, the sale of C sugar on the world market is no longer allowed. This is the result of a decision taken last year by the WTO panel. Starting from 2006, sugar produced above the quota must be sold on the EU market as sugar for industrial use.

With an average yield of over 11,000 kg of sugar per hectare, 2005 has been a record year for the beet growers. Both the beet harvest per ha (65.6 tons) and the sugar content (16.8%) outperformed the long-term average (60 tons per ha and 16.3% respectively).

The steady upward trend in the yield of recent years is due to ongoing improvements in the species of sugar beet. In addition, favorable weather conditions in 2005 – as in the previous two years – made a strong contribution to the increased yield.

Preparations have already started for the new beet year. Maintenance activities are underway in the factory and the company is investing in further optimization of the processing. The growers are gearing up for 2006: the first year of the new sugar regulation. Under this regulation – which runs till the sugar campaign of 2014/2015 – the minimum price for sugar and beet has to fall by 36% and 39.7% respectively within a four-year period. The changes will be explained to the growers at the growers’ meetings.