SPPK: Sugar-making Season Begins; Slovak Sugar Fighting for Its Future

Bratislava, 10 September (TASR) - The 2026/2027 sugar-making campaign begins on Thursday, but for the Slovak sugar industry this is no ordinary start to another season, stated spokesperson for the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPPK) Jana Holeciova on Thursday, adding that the last operating sugar factory in Slovakia, in Sered [Trnava region], is entering the campaign under conditions that the sector has never experienced before. Together with growers, it is striving to maintain sugar production in Slovakia and gradually restore the country's lost self-sufficiency. Jana Holeciova explained that the length of the campaign will depend on the total sugar beet harvest, which is significantly lower this year than last. This year, sugar beet will be harvested from an area of approximately 12,000 hectares. An average yield of around 47-48 tonnes per hectare is expected, with the average sugar content estimated at 16 percent. Last year, the average yield was 71 tonnes per hectare. According to her, this year's weather has once again confirmed that the availability of water is crucial for sugar beet. "Due to the lack of rainfall and the many sunny days in the first half of the summer, sugar beet achieved an unprecedented sugar content, reaching up to 20 percent in some places, whereas the standard at that time is usually around 15 percent. This was a positive development, but following the second heatwave many sugar beets shed their leaves, and the roots softened and became rubbery. Processing such beets will be challenging," said chairman of the Slovak Sugar Beet Growers Association Robert Kovacs. Holeciova added that this year's sugar beet campaign will therefore place even greater emphasis on the importance of water for beets as a specialised crop and part of specialised crop production, and the need to restore irrigation systems in Slovakia, as less than 1,000 hectares of sugar beet fields are irrigated. am/df