Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current state of the sugar beet industry.

Defra's reach and engagement with the agri-food sector is extensive and well-established. This includes regular contact with producers and processors in the UK sugar industry, including British Sugar.

Through the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group, we monitor UK agricultural markets, including for sugar beet, looking at price, supply, and trade. This provides forewarning of any atypical market movements or shocks.

The NFU is recognised by Defra to represent all sugar beet growers in the UK due to the nature of the UK Market with British Sugar the sole processor and buyer of Sugar beet. NFU Sugar negotiates on UK Sugar beet growers’ collective behalf to ensure fair contract terms and prices.

Current issues for sugar beet growers include the control of pests (aphids) and yellow virus, along with weather related problems - such as dry springs affecting crop establishment and wet conditions during the campaign harvests. We welcomed British Sugar's work with Rothamsted to predict levels of yellow virus early in the growing season. This meant that emergency use of neonicotinoid seed treatment was not needed in 2021.