Sugar beet for bioethanol production: An approach based on environmental agricultural outputs

The EU imports both bioethanol and the raw material needed to produce it. Thirty percent of bioethanol is produced from sugar beets in the EU. However, sugar beet cultivated area and yields have fallen due to the 2006 sugar regime reform. Given the potential uncertainty about the future for sugar beet farmers, biofuels may represent an alternative market. This paper analyses potential contribution to the efficiency, in terms of environmental output, of the sugar beet crop both when production is oriented toward bioethanol and regarding the use of input.