5 February 2011

British Sugar remains determined to keep its four factories open while beet can be processed, and deliveries have been arriving seven days a week.

Factories have sliced between 75pc and 80pc of rated capacity as the company has worked closely with growers to take beet “just in time”.

“As an overriding principle, our objective is to maximise the amount of crop that we get processed through our four sites to the benefit of growers and ourselves. We want the sugar,” said a British Sugar spokesman.

Savage frosts and the coldest December temperatures for a century damaged beet across the region. Temperatures as low as -22C in parts of Lincolnshire have seen many growers in the Newark area abandon-ing thousands of acres of the crop.

But along the coastal strip, and where crops were shielded by snow, frost damage has not been a complete disaster. British Sugar has been “mixing” better beet with poorer- quality crop to maximise the potential total slice and keep extracting sugar.

In central Norfolk, some growers have “disced” beet into the ground. As reported in the EDP last week, it has cost Robert Hambidge about £23,000, since about 50 acres of his beet crop has been lost totally.

British Sugar has taken beet from East Anglia to its Newark factory. The salvage strategy is based on taking fresh beet, which is lifted then deliv-ered without being held in clamp.

“It is coming straight from field to factory. We’re working with contrac-tors and growers to remove as much frost-affected and deteriorated mater-ial off the roots as possible so we can keep all factories going as fast as we possibly can to maximise volume,” said the company spokesman.

Some of the lessons learned from Wissington’s major headaches with high average sugar content in the 2000/2001 campaign have proved invaluable. “We are now processing beet that 10 years ago we could not have accepted,” said the spokesman.

While there have been some complaints about rejected loads, British Sugar says its aim has been to blend beet to get as good a mix to process as possible.

“If the strict common standard of some 10 years ago was applied, and the NFU has accepted this point, then just two deteriorated roots in the jog trough at the samplers would ensure rejection of load after load. We are really trying to do our best,” said the spokesman.

“It is difficult for everyone –incredibly difficult.

“We changed the opening hours at Cantley at the specific request of the NFU and growers because it would help loading of vehicles. We’re trying to do everything we can.

“This is a very fluid and rapid and fast-changing situation. At the end of the day, it is in everyone’s interests to get the beet into the factory as good as it can.”

The sharp fall in sugar content has put the factories under further press-ure and added to processing costs.

“I just hope that growers can see that we’re doing everything we possibly can to work closely with them to work through in an incredibly difficult winter,” said the spokesman.