Sugar yields in the Netherlands dropped to 16.9% last week amid wet weather conditions in the country, according to the latest weekly figures published by Dutch producer Suiker Unie.
Last week also marked a further slowdown in harvesting, with only 2,300 hectares of beet harvested, down from 4,000 hectares the previous week.
Suiker Unie described the harvested acreage as "relatively small."
There are now 4,200 ha left to harvest, down from 6,500 ha last week.
However, the harvest will still be completed on schedule at the end of December, Suiker Unie said.
"Despite the wet conditions, it is expected that all beets can still be lifted in a timely manner," it said. "The last processing of the plants will probably be just after or during Christmas."
Last week saw sugar yields fall slightly across the country. The highest sugar yielding region was Texel, at 18.2%, up sharply from 0.08% the previous week.
The wider Groningen area remains one of the highest yielding regions at an average of 17.13%, up 0.23 point week on week, the data shows.
The figures still show an improvement from the very first yield figures of the season, which stood at an average 15.4% for the entire country. The average beet yield for the country has now sustained an average of 16.95% over the latest month, and an average of 16.6% so far this year.
Overall the harvest and the crop is running as planned, and most expectations have been met.
Temperatures are currently forecast to be higher than normal for this time of year in many beet producing regions of Europe, especially in the Netherlands, where, over the next 14 days temperatures will hover between 5 and 14 degrees Celsius.
