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Tereos sees EU sugar output falling to 38-year low as severe weather hits beet crops
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PARIS, Aug 26 (Reuters) - French sugar maker Tereos expects this summer's extreme heat and drought to reduce its growers' sugar beet yields by more than 20% compared with last year, contributing to an anticipated 38-year low for EU sugar output, the company said on Wednesday. • Sugar beet is among summer crops, such as maize and potatoes, to have suffered badly from extreme weather in Europe. • Tereos said beet yields for its French growers were also expected to be about 15% below the average of the past five seasons. • In response to the weather-hit crop, Tereos plans to shorten its sugar production campaign at its eight French factories to 100 days on average compared with 130 days last year, it said in a statement. • Tereos will also delay the start of the campaign to allow beet crops to potentially gain some yield. • Tereos said sugar prices were recovering after two years of decline, which had led to lower profits for the company and European rivals. • The expected tightening of supply and a decline in planting should help the market rebalance. • "Today, we are seeing the first signs of a rise in sales prices, which should enable the sector to return to a more balanced level of performance," Pierre-Henri Dietz, Tereos' commercial director, said in the statement. • In a joint statement on Tuesday, Tereos and other French producers warned that sugar beet production could be more than 20% below average, with the impact of heat and drought exacerbated by pest and disease pressure. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
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