5. Conclusion

The global sugar industry is dominated by sugarcane. However, the European sugar industry has managed to maintain—and even expand—its acreage exclusively through sugar beet cultivation, thereby ensuring its independence in a market that has been open to global competition since 2017. The sugar industry is a heavy industry, given the volumes processed and the seasonal nature of production, with beet processing concentrated between September and January. The sector is constantly evolving in response to European regulations, customer expectations, and societal expectations.

The ongoing pursuit of industrial and economic efficiency—essential to the sector’s survival—has led to an increasing concentration of production facilities and a shift in governance toward the cooperative model, which is gradually gaining ground throughout Europe. In France, by 2025, all operating...