British Sugar has announced that all sugar beet contracts for the 2022/23 crop year, regardless of contract length, will pay at least £27/tonne.

With growers currently exposed to significant cost inflation, and sugar pricing also rising, the company says it is the right thing to do to reflect this in the amount it pays growers.

The blanket £27/tonne payment will apply to all contracts linked to the crop that is about to be planted.

For growers who hold a contract that has a fixed price below £27/tonne, British Sugar is unilaterally raising their price to £27/tonne. Growers whose contracts feature a market bonus element will receive a guaranteed market bonus of £5.82, which gets their price to £27/tonne, paid as the crop is delivered.

The surplus beet price for the 2022/23 crop will also pay at £27/tonne.

Dan Green, Agriculture Director at British Sugar, said: “We are committed to strengthening collaborative relationships with our growers and identify opportunities for sugar beet to remain economically viable for everyone. We have worked closely with NFU Sugar to understand growers’ likely cost for this year’s sugar beet crop, and as a result we believe we need to guarantee a price to all growers.”