The Dutch beet campaign has ended
Last weekend, the sugar factory in Vierverlaten in the province of Groningen processed the last sugar beets of the 2022-2023 campaign. In Dinteloord, the campaign ended in the night of Thursday 26 January. In the factory in Anklam, Germany, the campaign will continue until early February.
During the campaign in the Netherlands, nearly 7.5 million tonnes of beets were processed: 7,434,158 tonnes to be exact. The sugar beets from the southern part of the country are processed in Dinteloord, while those from the north go to Vierverlaten. Since the sugar beet growing conditions in September were worse in the southern part of the country due to considerable rain, the sugar percentage of the beets processed in Dinteloord was also somewhat lower than in Vierverlaten. In Dinteloord, that percentage was 16.08% compared to 16.94% in Vierverlaten. This resulted in 483,391 tonnes of sugar in Dinteloord and 512,408 tonnes in Vierverlaten. The thick juice tanks on both locations have been filled and this thick juice will be processed into granulated sugar within a few months. The total amount of granulated sugar will then be more than 1.2 million tonnes.
Beet transport by ship
The transport of sugar beets by boat from Limburg to Dinteloord also increased once again this year. Compared to last year, 50,000 more tonnes of beets arrived in Brabant by water. This translates into over 16,000 fewer truck movements and a saving of 20% CO2 compared to transportation by truck.
CO2 reduction in Vierverlaten
Not only does transport by ship result in lower CO2 emissions, but thanks to significant changes to the production process in Vierverlaten, an energy saving of around 12% has been achieved here – and with that a 12% reduction in CO2 emissions. In the years ahead, both factories have major projects in the works aimed at a further reduction in emissions.