Analysis of the Performance of Egypt's Sugar Beet Production and Processing: Insights from Delta Sugar Company

Document Type : Original Article

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Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt

Abstract

The Egyptian government is expanding sugar beet cultivation and increasing the number of factories due to challenges in the sugarcane sector. Integrating supply response, partial equilibrium, and linear programming models provides a comprehensive understanding of market behavior. These models collectively offer insights into farmers' decision-making, market efficiency, welfare distribution, and resource optimization at the firm level. The results indicate that the rise in sugar beet production is primarily driven by an expansion in the cultivated area, while feddanic productivity has remained stable. Additionally, sugar beet producers exhibit risk-averse behavior, requiring an average of 7.3 months to decide whether to cultivate the crop in the future. Furthermore, price controls distort market signals, leading to inefficient resource allocation and declining consumer welfare. The case study of Delta Sugar Company underscores key operational and financial factors necessary for ensuring the long-term sustainability of Egypt’s sugar beet sector. Boosting Egypt's sugar beet industry requires improving agricultural efficiency, workforce development, and financial policies while adopting cost-reflective pricing and targeted subsidies to enhance sustainability and market competitiveness. Future research should focus on optimizing the value chain and analyzing market efficiency in Egypt's sugar beet industry to enhance competitiveness, pricing mechanisms, and policy effectiveness.

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