WVZ’s second estimate puts German sugar production at just over 3.3 million tonnes, roughly 25% below last season on a 17% fall in area. The north of the country is carrying the average: in Rhineland-Palatinate, where Südzucker is headquartered, yields so far are around 41 tonnes a hectare.
France looks worse. Yields are running as low as 34 tonnes a hectare in places, and at least 20,000 hectares are currently expected to go unharvested. The government has committed a billion euros to farmers hit by this year’s weather, spread across all agricultural production, and has backdated subsidies on red diesel and fertilizer to April. For beet growers specifically, crop insurance is unlikely to cover much. Around 60% have no policy at all, the state scheme only pays if losses exceed half the crop, and insurers are currently resisting claims based on crop diseases such as Rhizopus. In one Champagne field, the share of rotten beet rose from 8% on 4 August to 48% by mid-September.
EU white sugar prices have been creeping up rather than reacting, because stocks still overhang the market. Inward processing entries ran 63% above the previous year over the first ten months of 2025/26. More beet than usual is going to ethanol this season, as factories process poorer-quality material.
Beet price talks for 2027 are under way, and both France and Germany look likely to settle higher.
Read the full European sugar market analysis here.
