The 2017/18 beet campaign – Suiker Unie

In the Netherlands the beet acreage increased by more than 20% compared to 2016. With an excellent growing season with a beet yield record of more than 93 t/ha of beet, more than 8 mn t of beet were processed in the two Dutch sugar factories. The campaign in the Netherlands lasted up to 152 days, which is a new record. In 2017 some major expansion projects, two new beet washing plants, were realized resulting in daily peaks of up to 30,000 t/d beet processing. The Anklam factory in Germany had a good beet campaign with stable beet slicing rates and an excellent beet quality until the end of the campaign. The beet cultivation and harvest, main investments and process disturbances of the 2017/18 campaign at the three Suiker Unie factories Anklam (D), Dinteloord (NL) and Vierverlaten (NL) are discussed.