Due to price pressure

Sugar beet farmers now have to halve their acreage

Because sugar beet prices are plummeting, farmers are having to cut back. The Mercosur agreement is causing concern.

Sour times for sugar beet farmers in Burgenland: this year, the area under cultivation will be reduced from just under 3000 hectares to around 1400 hectares. The reason for this is the poor market situation. "The price prospects are currently devastating," says Markus Fröch, President of the Burgenland Beet Growers' Association.

Not viable
In recent years, farmers have been able to enjoy a high price level. That is now over. The beet price for 2024 is expected to be just under 35 euros per tonne. "That's almost half less than in 2023, but farmers need around 45 euros per tonne to be able to survive economically," says Fröch.

Concerns about agreements
On the one hand, less sugar is being consumed in Austria. On the other hand, there is an oversupply across Europe. Many countries in Eastern Europe are well supplied with Ukrainian sugar. Although duty-free imports from Ukraine are coming to an end, the EU Commission is planning an association agreement afterwards. Furthermore, the Mercosur agreement would bring more imports to Europe and distort prices on the domestic sugar market even more, warns LK President Nikolaus Berlakovich.