German farmers scramble to save sugar beet harvest after Swiss plant shuts down
Farmers in Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania are facing a crisis after a Swiss-owned sugar factory in their region suddenly closed. With no alternative processing site, they now rely on Nordzucker’s overstretched facilities to take their harvest before it spoils in the fields.
The Swiss factory, which normally processes local sugar beets, stopped accepting deliveries without warning. This left tens of thousands of tons of beets either unharvested or piling up, worsening in quality by the day. Farmers, now with no immediate buyer, have turned to Nordzucker’s network—but the company’s plants in Anklam and Uelzen are already running at full capacity.
Processing the backlog will take until at least mid-January, according to estimates. Growers are pressing Nordzucker to extend production hours, fearing their crops will rot before then. The closure has also disrupted supply chains, forcing Nordzucker to adjust transport routes, storage, and processing schedules to handle the sudden influx. So far, Nordzucker has not publicly responded to the farmers’ urgent requests. Meanwhile, the Swiss factory’s repairs remain delayed, leaving no quick solution in sight.
The shutdown has left farmers dependent on Nordzucker’s strained resources. Without intervention, much of the region’s sugar beet harvest could be lost. The situation also adds pressure on Nordzucker to manage logistics, pricing, and capacity in the coming weeks.
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