Results of the CIBE survey on topping, dirt tare and interprofessional agreements in European countries

The sugar market regime of the European Union lays down the ground rules for beet payment. Particulars of the reception are governed by the beet delivery contracts in the various member states (beet growing regions). The reception commission of the European beet growers association CIBE has conducted a survey of the methods of determining the total tare and on re-topping in its member countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany (four regions), Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, Netherlands (Cosun, NBF), Austria, Portugal, Switzerland, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, and Great Britain). Efforts to reduce the soil tare have led to diverse procedures. In some countries, factories can refuse to accept deliveries with a high soil tare. This paper describes the differences in the conditions of beet reception, which may result in large differences from country to country in the money beet growers receive for deliveries with the same sugar content and at the same beet price.