Licht raises European sugar output estimate

German analyst F.O. Licht on Monday raised by two million tonnes its estimate of European beet sugar output in 2004/05 to 28.2 million tonnes, against 26.479 million in 2003/04. "Optimal growing and harvesting conditions would mean that average per hectare yields might approach 9.6 tonnes, raw value, sharply up on the 8.97 tonnes seen last year," Licht said in a statement.
France saw a late surge in yields, it added.
In Germany the campaign was making rapid progress with a total of 23.6 million tonnes processed as of December 10, up from 22.4 million last year.