End of EU sugar quotas creates opportunities for East Anglian beet growers, says NFU and British Sugar

Beet being unloaded at the British Sugar factory at Cantley. Picture: James Bass (Image: Archant Norfolk � 2015)

At the end of a week when Norfolk's two sugar factories at Cantley and Wissington steamed into action to begin processing this year's beet crop, the abolition of sugar quotas will finally leave the UK industry free to sell and export without restriction for the first time in decades.

This country's quota had been 1.056m tonnes, enough to satisfy about 60pc of domestic consumption, with the remainder supplied by imported cane and beet sugar from the EU and the rest of the world.

But with British Sugar predicting 1.4m tonnes could be produced in the 2017/18 campaign, the company hopes there will be an opportunity to sell any surplus, either by taking a greater share of the UK market, or looking at export destinations.

READ MORE: British Sugar says end of EU quotas is a chance to boost beet production

The sugar industry in numbers. Graphic by Rob McVicar / Archant (Image: Archant)

Michael Sly, who farms 1,600 hectares at Thorney in east Cambridgeshire, and also chairs the National Farmers' Union's sugar board, said the change could allow East Anglia's sugar beet industry to ramp up production by 50pc and boost its already-significant role in the region's rural economy.

'The end of quotas offers sugar beet growers a huge opportunity to increase the area of sugar beet grown in the UK,' he said. 'We could grow enough to produce an additional half a million tonnes of home-grown sugar over and above the former national quota, depending on market conditions.

'That would clearly make the UK less dependent on imported sugar and benefit the rural economy. The sugar industry alone supports over 9,500 jobs in the East Anglia and East Midlands regions. It is an important break crop in a grower's rotation, as well as providing significant benefits to the wider environment.

'As one of the most productive and efficient sugar producers in the world, the UK home grown sugar sector can take advantage of the end of quotas to grow its share of the domestic market and grow its export markets across the world.'

The British Sugar site at Cantley. Sugar beet on the concrete pad after being unloaded by the lorries from around the county. Picture: James Bass (Image: Archant Norfolk � 2015)

While the industry is confident in its competitive efficiency, there are lingering uncertainties over whether the post-Brexit trade system could abandon import barriers and allow 'dumping' of state-subsidised cane sugar imports from elsewhere in the world.

READ MORE: Will new regime be a sweet deal for East Anglia's sugar industry?

But British Sugar's managing director Paul Kenward said he is looking forward to the challenge during a 'milestone' year for the business.

'We are facing big changes in the way in which sugar quotas are managed on a global level,' he said. 'Although the removal of quotas will increase the intensity of our competition, there is no longer any constraints on our growth opportunities – either here in the UK or abroad. We are seeing this as an exciting challenge.'