Nordzucker Post 1/2024 - 25 January 2024

Nordzucker in political dialogue

Together with representatives of the WVZ, Nordzucker held talks on the relevance of the sugar industry in rural areas and the plans for the future use of beet pulp to supply energy to sugar factories. These topics were met with great approval from the delegates who visited the stand.

There were also more critical discussions on whether beet cultivation can be sustainable at all, or on advertising restrictions and an incentive tax on sugar. Even if the response was mixed, “regional beet sugar” was perceived very positively and made many other debates about sugar fade into the background. With roasted almonds handed out at the stand, the presence at the party conference successfully provided opportunities for dialogue.

Great agreement on food policy and support for Nordzucker’s efforts to secure the competitiveness of beet cultivation – for example with the Smart Beet Initiative solutions and the plans to make the energy supply climate-neutral with the GoGreen programme – was achieved by CEO Lars Gorissen and plant manager Meike Kelz in an exchange with Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister of Economics and Agriculture, Sven Schulze (CDU), in Klein Wanzleben. The Minister supported their comments on the need for competitive beet cultivation and a sustainable and economical energy supply for the sugar factories. Sven Schulze was pleased that Nordzucker is actively tackling the challenges. A tour of the factory rounded off the visit.