UK beet plants are progressing well in hot weather before a harvest from late September or early October that should produce some 1.2-1.3 million tonnes of sugar, a British Sugar official said on Tuesday. "We've been quite impressed," Robin Limb, agricultural business manager, told Reuters.
"Most of the crop is holding up really well," he added. "Beet would benefit from rain. But beet is quite resilient. It is a very deep rooted crop." Forecasts for rain across Britain in the coming days could help beet plants to develop after a prolonged dry spell, he added. Limb reported no significant problems caused by disease or pests, and anticipated beet yields of 55-60 tonnes per hectare.
In October last year British Sugar, the UK's leading supplier and a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, asked UK growers to increase beet yields to an adjusted 70 tonnes per hectare, incorporating sugar content of 16 percent.
British Sugar set the target to boost efficiency in a tougher trading environment caused by price-slashing EU reforms. Some UK beet plantings will be replaced by wheat or set-aside following EU sugar reforms, growers say.