First ever sugar beet pricing platform launched

A SUGAR beet pricing platform believed to be the first of its kind has been launched this month, allowing British growers to manage and fix their own sugar beet prices.

The pricing platform has been developed by NFU Sugar, with support from British Sugar, and delivered by the supply chain service company Czarnikow. It will enable growers to take advantage of new futures-based contracts agreed between NFU Sugar and British Sugar in its latest contract offer, and will be offered via Czarnikow’s client platform, Czapp.

It will initially be tested by a pilot group of growers as part of a year-long pilot programme, with the intention to then roll it out more widely across sugar beet contracts.

The ground-breaking pilot will allow growers and British Sugar to price beet independently of each other for the first time ever. This means growers can lock in prices when it is attractive to them and British Sugar will only have to pay the price that they have independently set.

Michael Sly, chairman of the NFU Sugar board, explained: “This can be a win-win for the industry. It will give growers flexibility to lock in attractive prices at a time to suit them and take the opportunity and risk the market offers them into their own hands. This is a hugely exciting project.”