The average yield from France's 2006 sugar beet crop is expected to fall between five and six percent from last season due to delays in plant development, French sugar beet research centre ARTB said on Tuesday.
ARTB, a branch of French sugar beet growers' group CGB, is now forecasting the average sugar beet yield in France at around 65 tonnes per hectare. That is the average weight of beets per hectare of land. "In light of the current vegetation delays and root development an average yield of 65 tonnes is the maximum we can hope for," an ARTB analyst told Reuters.
"But it will all depend on the weather in July and August. This estimate is based on normal weather. But if we have a scorching summer then it will be even lower," the analyst added.
Last year the average yield was of 68.5 tonnes per hectare, the analyst said, stressing that 2005 was a very good year. Cold weather in May has delayed crop development and compounded problems caused by late sowings, ARTB said. The area was down 2.2 percent from last season at 371,000 hectares, according to farm ministry estimates released in mid-June.
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