 High yields are welcomed by sugar producers but not road users |
The annual sugar beet harvest is under way across the eastern counties and it promises to be a good one for farmers but not for road users. Yields are higher which means more lorry loads on the region's roads as sugar beet is delivered to factories.
Early deliveries are indicating that sugar content is going to be lower than last year when records were broken due to 2003's favourable conditions.
Half of the main factories processing the harvest are in East Anglia.
Overall yields up
The factories are at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, Wissington and Cantley in Norfolk and Peterborough.
Mark Culloden, agricultural business manager at the large Wissington plant, confirmed sugar content will be lower but overall yields up.
He said: "Early signs show that the sugar content of the beet will be about 2% down on last year when records were set.
"We had a lot of sunshine and rain at the right times in 2004 and that means yields will be up."
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version