Press release: An excellent beet campaign in complete safety!
We are proud to announce that we had an impeccable campaign in the year of our 175th anniversary: for 132 days, sugar beets were brought to our factories in complete safety. With a sugar level of 17,83% this year was a vintage year!
The beet campaign of the Tiense Suikerraffinaderij (Sugar Refinery of Tienen) started a week earlier than the past years. On 6 September the first beets entered the factories in Tienen and Longchamps. In comparison to last year, a campaign of 115 days, this year’s campaign was very long: after 132 days the last sugar beets were brought in on 14 January.
For this campaign 46,674 hectares were planted with sugar beets. We were able to achieve exceptional results thanks to both the planters and the Tiense Suikerraffinaderij: 81,15 tonnes of sugar beets per hectare, which is 14,47 tonnes of sugar per hectare. With a sugar level of 17,83% we expect, besides the quota of 486,235 ton sugar, an additional gain of approximately 130.000 tonnes. These results can be attributed to, among others, very beneficial climatological circumstances: a mix of sun and rain, combined with a mild autumn and winter.
A lot of effort was put into this campaign. For example the soil tare percentage was significantly lower than last year: 4,22% soil tare is the lowest percentage of the last ten years. On top of that the total amount of tare has decreased with approximately 3,86% to reach 12,37%. This decrease was achieved via the programme for cleaning beets. This removes the soil on the field, before the beets are transported to the factory. This way we can optimise both our logistics and the sustainability of our growth. Less soil equals less transport and a better preservation of our fields' fertility.
A sustainable beet campaign also implies guaranteeing a safe environment for the surrounding neighbourhood. That’s why last year, a transport charter was drawn up. This was signed by all of our beet transporters and it ensures responsible driving behaviour. This way we engage our transporters to respect driving and resting periods, to avoid unnecessary noise and mud on the road, to clean the tires when leaving the field,… Additionally we enhance safety during the campaign by placing speed meters, information signs at the side of the road and we cooperate well with the local police force.
A campaign should not only be a success for the Tiense Suikerraffinaderij but also for the planters, transporters and all the locals!
Contact:
Isabelle Roelandts – isabelle.roelandts@raftir.be – 02 775 80 66
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