Press releases

27.01.10

Nordzucker Group ends campaign in 16 sugar factories

Record year in nearly all regions      

The sugar beet campaign came to a close across the whole Nordzucker Group with very satisfactory results. The Swedish factory in Örtofta was the last factory to end the beet processing campaign on 23 January 2010. The campaign lasted between 67 to 133 days in the Central Europe, Northern Europe and Eastern Europe regions.

Over 17 million tonnes of sugar beet were processed around the clock in the 16 factories. “We enjoyed good to very good conditions in nearly all the regions to produce sugar of the finest quality. The campaign naturally gave rise to a number of challenges in all of the Group’s regions – we tackled them successfully thanks to outstanding commitment,” emphasised Chief Production Officer Axel Aumüller. On top of a few technical problems, it was mainly the icy weather, heavy snowfall in parts, and impassable roads, which produced logistics challenges – especially for the factory employees, farmers and transport companies. “By combining our forces and implementing good concepts, we were able to process our beet in excellent condition,” praised Dr. Niels Pörksen, Chief Agricultural Officer.

Central Europe
The beet year was an exceptional year in many ways for the Central Europe region (north and east Germany). High harvest yields with high sugar concentrations were the outstanding features of the campaign in north Germany – corresponding to over twelve tonnes sugar per hectare (previous year 11.4)

Record year for Nordic Sugar
The subsidiary Nordic Sugar boasted a record campaign in Denmark with exceptional yields: 12.6 tonnes sugar on average (11.4). Yields in Sweden were also satisfactorily high at 10.6 tonnes (9.3). Finland with 6.6 (5.7) and Lithuania with 8.0 (7.3) produced much better results than the previous year.

Eastern Europe doing well
Unbroken good weather conditions were the basis for optimal growth in Poland and Slovakia. Around 10.5 tonnes of sugar per hectare were extracted in Poland (7.6). The plants also grew similarly well in Slovakia, to produce yields of 10.2 tonnes sugar per hectare (10.9). As a result of a prolonged drought, yields in Serbia tended to be modest: 7.6 tonnes per hectare (8.9).

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