Amalgamated Sugar Co., the company that buys all of the sugarbeets grown in Idaho, has just finished processing the 2016 crop and says it will result in a record 2.34 billion pounds of sugar.
The growers harvested a record 7.2 million tons despite harvesting 2,000 fewer acres than in 2015, according to the University of Idaho. Idaho sugarbeet revenues are estimated to increase by 2 percent from a year earlier.
Amalgamated President and CEO John McCreedy attributed the record production to seeds that are genetically modified to resist pesticides, improved breeding techniques that have increased beets’ sugar content, and improving factory efficiency.
The gains will help the company compete in an industry that has seen prices fall below the break-even point some years because of Mexico and other countries flooding the global market with cheap sugar, McCreedy said.
Source: www.idahostatesman.com