Hungary's beet crop is expected to be as high as 3.2 million tonnes, down on last year's record, but it risks producing more sugar than its EU quota, sugar association CIE said on Monday. Last year's sugar beet crop was 3.5 million tonnes. CIE declined to provide refined sugar estimates but industry experts said output would be around 440,000 tonnes, down from just under 500,000 last year.
Hungary has a 400,000-tonne annual EU quota but it used about 50,000 tonnes of the 2005 quota last year, which means it starts the new season on a lower quota with a crop of superb quality, CIE said.
"Based on July data, the full year quota may not be enough," a CIE official who asked not to be named said.
Countries are allowed to use up to 20 percent of their quota a year in advance and sugar produced in excess of the quota has to be sold without subsidies.
Hungary is being forced to sell around 50-60,000 tonnes of such sugar from last year's campaign and the CIE said it would have excess sugar once again in the new season.
Sugar beet was planted on 58,518 hectares, according to early July data, down from 64,000 a year earlier.
But the number of plants was up to 92,000 per hectare from 84,000 a year earlier and overall quality was also significantly higher.
"So far the crop is fantastic, we're looking at a record crop per hectare if the weather remains co-operative," a CIE official who asked not to be named said.
Around 77 percent of the overall crop was classified as high quality in early July, up from 69 percent a year earlier while 18 percent was medium quality, down from 25 percent a year earlier, CIE said.
Hungary will compile the next set of crop estimates in late August.
Hungary's biggest sugar producers include Austria's Agrana and Germany's Nordzucker.