Growers squeezed as EU sugar markets come under pressure
© GNP Lower global sugar prices could lead to smaller margins for sugar beet growers on index-linked contracts.
EU white sugar futures stood at $460/t (£340/t) on 23 September for the December 2025 contract, having fallen by 15% in the past year.
Meanwhile, the EU Commission reported that ex-works white sugar prices dropped by €271/t during a 12-month period, to stand at €536/t (£468/t) in June 2025.
See also: Why the sugar beet deal could see a reduced 2026 crop area
Sugar beet growers in the UK have been offered a fixed price of £30/t for the 2026-27 crop by British Sugar, which is £3/t lower on the year and £10/t lower than the 2023-24 crop.
This fixed price accounts for up to 65% of the contract, with the remainder typically determined by the markets.
Associated British Foods, parent company to British Sugar, reported that sales and profits in its sugar businesses in the UK and Spain fell significantly during the second half of the financial year ending 13 September 2025.
A trading update issued by ABF stated that this was a result of persistent low European sugar prices and a high cost of beet.
It said: “In 2026, we expect some improvement in sugar profitability.
“However, whilst we will benefit from having contracted lower beet prices in Europe, sugar prices remain below our previous expectations and will delay the recovery in sugar profitability.”
Europe’s largest sugar producer, Sudzucker, which operates seven sites across Germany and processed 29m tonnes of beet last year, expects lower earnings during the second half of its 2025-26 financial year, due to persistently low global prices and a challenging EU market.
The latest sugar beet campaign is approaching, with the Wissington factory already open and Bury St Edmunds, Newark, and Cantley all due to open in the next fortnight. However, volumes are expected to be slightly down following the dry summer.
EU sugar beet yields have been forecast by its crop monitoring service at 74.8t/ha for 2025, down from 75.8t/ha, but still up on the five-year average of 73.6t/ha.
The EU’s Mars crop bulletin for September forecast lower yields in Germany and France, but increases in Poland, Romania, Austria, and Slovakia.