It is reported by Nasdaq.

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in January that member states cannot offer exemptions to the bloc's ban on crop seeds treated with neonicotinoids, which are considered a threat to bees.

After severe losses from crop disease in 2020, France granted sugar beet growers an exemption for up to three years to a general ban on using neonicotinoid chemicals.

The head of beet growers group CGB last month said that the French sugar beet crop area was set to fall by 6-7% to a 14-year low.

The Commission's report forecast the EU's sugar beet area would fall 3% to 1.455 million hectares.

EU sugar production in the 2022/23 season was estimated at 15 million tonnes, a decline of 10% from the previous season, reflecting both lower yields and reduced planted area, the report said.

The smaller harvest and increased refining costs because of high natural gas prices have led to higher prices within the trading bloc.

The report said the average EU price in February 2023 reached 804 euros ($877.73) a tonne, an annual rise of 83%.

EU imports of sugar were forecast to climb to 2 million tonnes in 2022/23, up 34% year on year.