The sugar beet processing season has ended at three factories operated by British Sugar after a winter marked by freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall, Eastern Daily Press reported.
The company confirmed that its sites at Cantley and Wissington, along with the factory in Bury St Edmunds, have completed their beet slicing operations. The firm’s fourth factory in Newark-on-Trent is expected to finish processing early next week, bringing the national campaign to a close.
British Sugar said more than seven million tonnes of sugar beet have been processed so far this season. The average sugar content of the crop is expected to reach about 17.4 percent, making it the third-highest level recorded in the past decade. Overall crop yields are also expected to be above the five-year average, despite difficult weather conditions faced by growers during the winter.
According to Dan Green, the campaign has been one of the most successful in recent years. He said favourable harvesting conditions during autumn allowed farmers to lift a large share of the crop before Christmas.
Green noted that sugar levels in the beet were strong early in the campaign but dropped after a period of severe frost in early January. However, around 70 percent of the crop had already been processed by that time, limiting the overall impact on average sugar content.
Temperatures fell as low as minus 12 degrees Celsius in parts of the region, including Marham. Following the cold spell, growers were advised to prioritise the delivery of frost-affected beet to factories to prevent quality losses.
Green said the company used temperature monitoring systems to track conditions across beet fields and worked with farmers and transporters to move crops that were at risk into factories quickly. The slow thaw this winter also helped ensure that affected beet could be processed before its quality declined.
The company reported strong factory performance throughout the campaign, supported by several recent investments aimed at improving efficiency and reducing emissions.
At the Bury St Edmunds site, nearly £20 million was invested in three new evaporators that began operating last autumn. Earlier, a £43 million steam drying plant was installed at the Wissington factory in west Norfolk, which also marked its 100th processing campaign this year.
Meanwhile, the Cantley factory recently completed an £11 million project to install a combined heat and power plant designed to improve energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions. The site has been processing around 7,000 tonnes of beet per day during the campaign.
Cantley continued processing about a week longer than originally planned to allow farmers from southern areas to deliver beet that had remained in the ground due to wet weather near the end of January. Some of those deliveries had been delayed after the Bury St Edmunds factory closed on February 6.
Green said the company’s digital monitoring systems, including the “Lifted” and “Delivered” mobile applications, helped track beet harvesting and deliveries throughout the season. About 100 harvesting contractors recorded more than five million tonnes of beet through the system, allowing the company to monitor supply and make operational decisions more effectively.
He also thanked growers, contractors and transporters for their efforts during the season, saying their commitment ensured that factories remained supplied despite the challenging weather conditions.
