Despite all the difficulties caused by the war, the profitability of sugar production in Ukraine has a positive trend, the Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy informs.
Thus, according to the Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration, sugar factories in Vinnytsia region produced 442 thousand tons of sugar in the current production season. This figure is 23% higher than last year, and production volumes are the highest in the last five years. As of January 12, 2024, all five sugar factories have completed the production season.
It is noted that in the production season 2023/24, the sugar producing regions significantly increased the volume of raw materials processing and sugar production. Thus, they processed more than 3.1 million tons of sugar beet, which is 28% more than on the corresponding date last year.
Also, according to the Harvest Online 2023 map, Vinnytsia region farmers harvested 2.48 million tons of sugar beet, with an average yield of 45.6 tons per hectare.
According to some experts, next year the sugar beet acreage in Ukraine will increase by 10-20%, and sugar production will grow to 2 million tons per year. Currently, Ukraine already produces about 1.8 million tons of sugar, while domestic consumption is 900 thousand tons.
In addition, despite the difficult wartime conditions, Ukraine is actively exporting sugar to the EU and will continue to do so next season to cover the deficit in the markets of some EU countries. In addition, Ukrainian sugar is also interesting for the global market, where experts predict an increase in the deficit balance of this product.