SUKKAR in Turkey considers innovative Eurosilo system
Sugar undeniably has a global strategic value. Not only as a basic nutrient, but also as an important commodity that provides input to many sectors of the economy. According to the data of the FAO the world harvested 281.000.000 tons of sugar beet from 4.5 million hectares of farmland in 2023. The world’s top five producers of sugar beet are Russia, France, United States, Germany and Turkey. Now, sugar producers such as SUKKAR in Turkey, are looking for optimization, while investing heavily in modernization to stay ahead.
Importance of sugar beet
Sugar beet enriches the gross national product with the high added value it provides. It contributes to socio-economic conditions in rural areas, its by-products are used as animal feed, it reduces rural-to-urban migration by encouraging the farmers to remain on their lands and it pioneers crop rotation, planned production and irrigated agriculture.
Sugar beet production in Türkiye
After privatization of 10 out of the 25 sugar factories by the government in 2018, today 15 out of 33 sugar beet factories are state-owned. From the remaining factories 12 are privately-owned and 6 of them belong to Pankobirlik, a beet producers’ cooperative union. With 110.000 farmers and about 20.000 personnel, sugar beet is cultivated mainly in Konya and followed by several other Central Anatolian provinces such as Yozgat, Eskişehir, Aksaray and Kayseri as well as Afyonkarahisar in the eastern Agean region.
Increasing quotas
Sugar beet production is carried out within the quotas determined by the State for each year. The factories sign contracts with farmers for sugar beet production regarding the amount within the quota allocated to them. Since 2002, yearly quotas determined between 2.10 million to 2.84 million are increasing each year.
About SUKKAR
SUKKAR produces 80.000 tons of sugar annually with two factories in the Eastern Anatolia region, in a 13.000 hectares area, involving 4.000 farmers. Within the last 5 years, the Erzurum and Erzincan sugar factories, established in 1956 and privatized in 2019, were modernized with an investment of approximately 10 million Euros. To increase beet production and sugar yield per hectare, beet dismantling, loading and cleaning machines were imported and put into service, saving manual workload en costs. Additionally, sugar packaging and cube sugar production are carried out within the facility, which gives SUKKAR an operational advantage. However, storing all the produced sugar in proper conditions remains unsolved.
Main challenges
Mr. Necati Karavaizoglu, General Manager of SUKKAR, points out the situation in the country briefly. Regarding the productivity and cultivation of sugar beet, the main challenges are climatic conditions, irrigation, plant diseases and parasites. Also, the difficulty to find agricultural workers leads to more mechanization in farming. While most of these challenges have been covered with innovation and mechanization, the storage of sugar still needs particular attention. In spite of the modernizations, storage in big bags, piled up in warehouses is still common. This doesn’t only require significant labor, but also leads to waste due to moisture and contamination.
Fully automated enclosed Eurosilo storage for sugar
Recognizing the importance of optimal storage conditions for sugar, ESI now introduces the Eurosilo system to the sugar industry. Keeping large quantities of sugar fresh, dry and free from contamination makes the Eurosilo the final link in optimizing the production for sugar producers. With a capacity of up to ten-thousands of tons, it saves space, it is environmentally safe and the automated operation reduces labor costs, while minimizing product loss. As far as Mr. Karavaizoglu is concerned, the Eurosilo offers the right solution, ready for the right moment to be incorporated at production plants in Turkey.
More information
Learn more about automated silo storage for sugar: Need for up-to-date technology for sugar storage – Eurosilo. Want more information in Turkish? Contact me for more details on the Eurosilo Sugar Storage Paper in Turkish! info@archimediz.com.tr
By Özlem Ünal
Country Representative Türkiye
ESI Eurosilo