# Sugar Beet Profitability in Lubelskie Province, Poland
## 5 Conclusions  
When analyzing the production profitability index in 2020 and 2021 (1.31), it was higher than in 2018 and 2019 [40, 50], indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic did not worsen the economic situation of growers in those years. However, in 2022, production profitability decreased significantly, with the profitability index (W) dropping to 1.1 (very low). The largest impact on sugar beet revenues was the purchase price of beets by sugar mills, which increased compared to previous years. Despite this increase, the higher purchase price did not compensate for the rising costs of beet cultivation, resulting in a significant decline in income from sugar beet production in 2022. Analysis showed that income values were more influenced by indirect costs than direct costs. The increase in both indirect and direct costs observed in 2021 may be linked to the global economic situation during the pandemic; however, the cost growth from 2020 to 2021 was relatively moderate. Starting in 2020, supply chains for seeds, crop protection products, fertilizers, and fuels were disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, production costs rose sharply, likely influenced by the war in Ukraine. Thus, the conflict probably had a significant impact on the financial situation of beet growers that year, contributing to economic destabilization, including in sugar beet cultivation.  
The analyses of cultivation costs and profitability were conducted on a representative farm meeting criteria characteristic of a significant group of farms in the Lublin region. This research has been ongoing for over 20 years. Changes in beet cultivation areas and farm machinery--reflecting continuous modernization--necessitate studying farms that deviate from this representative profile. The results presented here serve advisory purposes for farmers in this part of Poland. There is potential to develop an application to aid in planning sugar beet cultivation. Due to observed recent changes in machinery and cultivation area, plans exist to expand this research further.  
The geopolitical situation remains unstable, and prices of seeds, fertilizers, and plant protection products are constantly fluctuating. The transfer function identified for seed prices is unstable. Moreover, seed prices show no correlation with previous years' data, which is unusual and likely due to the current geopolitical situation, making forecasting very difficult. Fertilizer prices are challenging as well; while the system is stable, it shows an upward trend, suggesting further price increases for these already expensive inputs. Political decisions will be necessary to curb these increases. Recently, discussions about imposing sanctions on Russian fertilizers have emerged, which may further affect fertilizer price forecasts.  
Conceptualization, Z.K. and K.P.; methodology, W.S.; software, J.Z.; validation, Z.K. and K.P.; writing--original draft preparation, Z.K., W.S. and K.P.; writing--review and editing, J.Z. and Z.K.; visualization, J.Z. and W.S.; supervision, K.P.; funding acquisition, Z.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This work was financed as part of the Lublin University of Technology projects FD-24/IM-5/087 and FD-24/EE-2/801.  
The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.  
The authors would like to thank Krajowa Grupa Spozywcza S.A. for providing data on sugar beet cultivation and the Krasnystaw Sugar Factory for valuable information.  
Authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflicts of interest.