The UK’s domestic sugar beet industry is set to conclude its 2024-2025 season, with the Newark factory being the final site to shut its doors over the weekend.
British Sugar’s four factories have collectively processed 7.7 million tonnes of locally grown sugar beet, yielding approximately 1.1 million tonnes of sugar.
This season is particularly significant for two of British Sugar’s largest sites - Bury St Edmunds and Wissington - as they prepare to mark 100 years of beet processing in 2025.
Both factories will celebrate their centenaries throughout the year with a series of events and activities involving local communities, employees and farmers.
Dan Green, agriculture director at the sugar processor, said the 2024-25 campaign had been "a strong one" for the UK beet sugar industry.
He said: "The weather has been – for the most part – kind and, thankfully, the growing area has received nothing like the amount of rain or frost which we experienced in the last two campaigns.
"Growers have delivered average, or better than usual yields, and this has been complemented by solid factory performances across the board, with a particular callout to Bury and Cantley, both of which had a stellar campaign.
“We’re delighted with the combined efforts of our growers, hauliers, harvesting contractors, factory teams and everyone involved in the campaign for getting us to this stage safely and in good order.”
The campaign also saw the introduction of two new apps, Lifted and Delivered, which aim to improve visibility across the agricultural supply chain.
The tools help growers to track harvested crops awaiting collection and log deliveries to factories.
Mr Green noted that there had been positive engagement with the apps since their launch at the start of the season.
"The impact of both Lifted and Delivered has been extremely positive, with over four million tonnes of beet recorded in the Lifted app," he said.
"This knowledge has afforded us better planning capabilities and given us one of the best Christmas periods we’ve had for years, with all four factories remaining full and running smoothly."
Additionally, British Sugar has made significant investments across all its factories.
At Bury St Edmunds, construction continues on the new £19.5m evaporators, set to be commissioned for the 2025-26 campaign, reducing emissions by 20,000 tonnes annually.
And at Cantley, a new gas turbine has been installed in the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, cutting emissions by around 16,000 tonnes of CO2e each year.
As centenary celebrations continue throughout the year, Mr Green said the processor was already focused on preparing the next crop for planting.
"Drilling is now underway in some areas and providing some favourable weather and I am optimistic about the coming season," he said.
"The colder winter and frost patches throughout January and February are expected to keep levels of aphids carrying Virus Yellows disease to a minimum.
"Providing aphid populations stay low, and the summer weather is on our side, we expect to see healthy crops, strong yields and good margins for our growers."
