Following months of discussions, the NFU and British Sugar announced details of a contract completion bonus payment for beet growers last week.

Provided they fulfil their contract, growers will receive £1.50 per tonne on their 2013/14 contracted tonneage, to be paid following the 2013/14 campaign and applying to both Contract Tonneage Entitlement (CTE) and Industrial Tonneage (ICE). As a result of the new bonus, total equivalent payment will be £28.01/t for CTE and £27.01/t for ICE. The Price for Surplus beet tonnages will remain at £25/t.

Commenting on the outcome of discussions between the union and British Sugar, NFU sugar board Chair William Martin said he had attempted to highlight the difficulties of this year's campaign and the significant loss of confidence among growers.

In addition to challenging crop conditions, beet factories have had multiple performance problems resulting in a long campaign and exacerbating difficulties on farm, Mr Martin said on Friday (1 March). During the NFU conference last month, beet growers revealed that the relationship between themselves and British Sugar is becoming strained as a result of consistently low contract prices and technical problems holding up processing at British Sugar's plants.

There were even calls for the newly appointed groceries code adjudicator or competition regulators to look at the company's monopoly of the sector, and expressions of dissatisfaction with the close relationship between NFU sugar board and British Sugar, though representatives of both offered assurances that their relationship "doesn't feel cosy" and that their work is focused on improving the health of the UK sector in preparation for the end of the quota system, which should happen towards the end of the current decade.