The news that British Sugar is proposing to cut its Norfolk Cantley factory has been met with dismay by the industry.
Cantley was the UK’s first sugar-processing factory and is expected to close in February 2027. In a statement, British Sugar said a combination of external pressures, including low average European sugar prices, high energy costs and a market-wide, long-term gradual decline in volumes over time, were to blame.
George Freeman MP commented ‘’This is devasting news for Norfolk sugar beet growers and food sector, and a significant blow for the wider rural community. This is not just a factory – it supports skilled jobs, local contractors, hauliers and generations of farmers across Norfolk and Suffolk. It was the first successful British beet sugar factory, founded in 1912, and is very much part of Norfolk’s industrial heritage.
‘At a time when food security, domestic production and economic resilience are becoming increasingly urgent priorities in an ever fragile global trading system, we should be looking at how we strengthen strategically important facilities like Cantley, not lose them.”
“We need policies that boost our home grown produce and ensure that manufacturers like British Sugar, which supplies over 60 percent of the UK’s sugar market, have the levers in place to weather energy price fluctuations, crop yields and overseas imports.’’
NFU Sugar is calling for long-term assurances to protect growers and the future of the UK sugar beet sector.
Chair of the NFU Sugar Board Kit Papworth, said: “While we are pleased with British Sugar’s commitment that no growers will be financially disadvantaged for the 2027/28 crop, we are calling for this to be made permanent, to give affected growers the confidence to invest for the long-term future of the sector.
“Sadly, we are seeing sugar beet factories around Europe closing – which is a consequence of over-capacity following deregulation in 2017 when the EU transitioned from a protected, quota-based system to one exposed to international sugar markets.
“We believe this closure is also a consequence of government trade policy in allowing greater quantities of duty-free sugar to be imported into the UK. NFU Sugar is also very concerned this factory closure means British Sugar will reduce its commitment to domestically grown sugar beet. As we have long argued, imported sugar may be produced in ways that are illegal in the UK.”
