OREANDA-NEWS  Russian sugar factories produced 6.6 million tons of beet sugar in 2023, which is 670 thousand tons more than in 2022, according to Soyuzrossakhar.

According to the union, 40 out of 66 sugar factories are currently processing sugar beet from the 2023 harvest. Last year, 29 factories were operating at this time. Daily sugar production is 19 thousand tons, which is 7.4 thousand tons higher than daily consumption.

Sugar beet processing at 16 plants will continue in February. Some sugar factories will continue to operate in March. The expected sugar production in the first quarter of this year may amount to about 750 thousand tons, which is more than twice the average of the first quarter over the past three years.

As reported, the Institute of Agricultural Market Studies (ICAR) predicts sugar production this season (August 2023 - July 2024) at almost 6.8 million tons, which is 10.5% more than the previous season. The increase in production is due to an increase in beet harvest, which is estimated at 52.5 million tons (48.9 million tons a year earlier). This will happen both due to the expansion of beet areas (by 4.8%) and an increase in yield (by 3.7%). In addition, the sugar content of beetroot was higher than last year. Beetroot is grown in 24 regions in Russia.