To reduce its operational footprint, British Sugar has proposed the closure of the Cantley factory, with beet processing to cease at the end of February 2027.
Operations would be concentrated at Bury St Edmunds, Newark and Wissington, with the company stating that these sites are well-positioned and have the capacity to produce the same volume of sugar as the four factories produce today.
Packaging operations at the three sites will also be maintained, with Newark continuing to serve brown sugar customers.
British Sugar’s managing director, Keith Packer, said: “This proposal has not been taken lightly. It follows a thorough review of the business and reflects 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.
“British Sugar will continue to be able to meet demand and maintain our market position with three factories.
“We recognise the uncertainty this proposal will create for our colleagues at Cantley, their families and the wider community. Our focus now is to engage openly and responsibly throughout the consultation process.
“While this is a difficult proposal, we remain confident in the future of the UK sugar industry and believe these changes will help ensure British Sugar remains resilient, competitive and well positioned to continue investing in our people, our customers and the wider homegrown sugar industry for years to come.”
While growers in the Cantley area will be invited to continue growing sugar beet, the organisation says that all employees at the site will likely be affected and has begun discussions with Unite.
NFU Sugar has responded to the proposal, saying it is extremely disappointed by the decision.
NFU Sugar board chair 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.
“Growers supplying Cantley have supported the industry for decades and will rightly be very concerned about the proposed closure and potential impact on their farming businesses.
“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.
“This is a critical moment for the future of UK sugar beet. Growers need certainty. NFU Sugar is therefore seeking a public commitment from British Sugar that UK-grown sugar beet is not displaced by imported beet or cane sugar”.