40 years sugar industry of East Germany

The sugar industry in the new German Länder has made enormous technical and economic progress since the takeover of the existing factories by German and Danish sugar companies and the restructuring of the industry. This article examines the reasons why this boom was not possible in the previous 40 years. Starting with the structure of the sugar industry of East Germany (GDR), the technical equipment, investment, as well as the manufacture of machines and installations in industry-owned machine shops are looked at in detail. Also discussed are particular aspects of the beet supply, sugar and animal feed production, energy generation, and environmental protection. In this context, the reasons for the high labour requirements and lack of economic efficiency of the GDR sugar industry become apparent.