INDICATORS OF SUGAR BEET AND SUGAR PRODUCTION IN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES AND CROATIA

This paper presents the forecast of production, consumption and prices of sugar beet and sugar at the European Union level by 2020. The forecast is prepared using the AGMEMOD model. It is expected that sugar beet production and related prices will decrease by 0.2% to 0.5% by 2020. The annual yield of sugar beet per hectare shall grow by 0.8% or 0.6% respectively, while the sugar production will stagnate or even decrease by 0.5%. The Republic of Croatia became a full member of the European Union in 2013, and its sugar production is organized in three factories. Market demands for sugar are mainly met by domestic production, but the yield of sugar beet is very ow as compared to the yields in other EU countries. It is approximately 39.1 to 75 tons per hectare, while the average sugar content is approximately 8 tons per hectare. Such low yield is caused by unfavorable weather conditions and insufficient technological and economic knowledge of the producers. An increase in sugar beet yield and sugar content can be achieved through better organization of production, which presupposes improved technological, economic and market knowledge of sugar beet producers.