Bad news for the sweet tooth: Candy shortages due to drought

Bad news for the sweet tooth. Due to the heat and drought in Europe, the sugar beet harvest is likely to deteriorate, affecting candy and chocolate production, experts warn.

Farmers in many European countries are concerned about low yields of sugar beet. In total, sugar production in the EU and UK next season will be around 16.4 million tonnes. That’s about 1 million tonnes less than a year ago, trading firm Czarnikow estimates.

Confectionery and chocolate shortage due to poor harvest

A poor harvest means more sugar has to be imported. If the rains also hold off for the time being, the production forecast may be adjusted further downwards.

White sugar prices have risen sharply in the past two weeks and are now down 8 percent from a five-year low reached in June. According to experts, higher prices will result in less sugar being purchased and will have consequences for sweets and chocolate production. So some products will start reducing their production levels, it seems.

Sugar beet cultivation can still recover

Beet is usually harvested from autumn. This means that crops can still recover if the weather changes in the short term. But this is unlikely to happen. Although heavy rains and thundershowers are expected from tomorrow onwards, it is unlikely that the rains will be enough to restore cultivation in the coming period. However, rain over the next week could lead to localized flooding as the soil dries out.

According to farmers, it is rarely possible to spray against heat and drought, which does not only affect sugar beet. Other crops like maize and sunflower are also affected by the heat.

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Bad news for sweet tooths: Candy may be in short supply due to the drought

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