20p top-up for beet growers

By FWi staff

SUGAR beet growers will receive top-up payments for contract beet next week.

British Sugar is to pay 20p for each adjusted tonne delivered this season, taking the interim price to 27.21/t.

“This is mainly due to the more favourable currency exchange rates seen since the original interim price was set in September,” says BS business development manager Peter Williams.

“But we have unblocked some of the sugar we carry over from season to season, since its storage may become uneconomic.

“This means the unblocking allowance taken out of the campaign interim price cannot be repaid.”

A final balancing payment will follow in November, says Mr Williams.

New purity payments, worth about 1 million and introduced as part of last years revamped Inter Professional Agreement between BS and the NFU, will be also be paid next week.

These will be allocated on a stepped scale relating to amino N content.

Growers in the top 25% purity band will receive 20.3p/adjusted tonne; those in the next quartile 15.7p/t; then 10p/t, and the least pure quartile 5.1p/t.

However, a deduction of 6.4p/t on all beet delivered in the 1999/2000 season has been made to cover the falling value of beet carried over to this season, reflecting the impact of the strengthening Pound over this period.

C beet prospects remain similar to early season predictions, with BS expecting to pay about 6/t in November.

This, together with haulage and late delivery allowances already paid, means growers will receive a total of about 10/t, says Mr Williams.

That is about 3/t above last years level, reflecting this seasons stronger world market, he adds.

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