LONDON: Sugar production in the European Union is forecast to rise in the 2021/22 season leading to an increase in stocks of the sweetener, the European Commission said on Tuesday in a short-term outlook report. The EU’s executive projected white sugar production would rise to 15.5 million tonnes in 2021/22, up from the prior season’s 14.5 million.

Sugar beet yields were forecast at 74 tonnes per hectare, in line with the five-year average but 10% higher than the previous season. Sugar beet area was also seen rising by 1% to 1.5 million hectares.

“Cold spells and frosts during the sowing campaign led to some lost plantings, although most of them could still be re-sown. The cold weather in the spring has reduced the pest and disease pressure, which is having a positive impact on yields,” the report said.

Stocks at the end of the 2021/22 season were seen at 1.4 million tonnes, up 28% from 1.1 million a year earlier.

EU human sugar consumption was seen stable at 14.8 million tonnes in the 2021/22 season with a long-term decline in per capita consumption slowed by the post-pandemic recovery of the catering sector, the report said.

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a fall in human sugar consumption to 14.8 million in the 2020/21 season, down from 16.4 million in the prior season.