# Sugar Beet Profitability in Lubelskie Province, Poland
## 4 Discussion
### Discussion of Results
However, in 2022, direct costs increased significantly to 4738.98 PLN, mainly due to the rise in the cost of purchasing mineral fertilizers (Figure 6). In 2020 and 2021, both direct and indirect costs increased, but so did profits. Unfortunately, in 2022, profits decreased significantly, and the profitability of sugar beet cultivation dropped markedly. Mineral fertilizer costs accounted for the largest share of direct costs in each of the years considered. These costs remained at similar levels in 2020 and 2021. However, in 2022, the share of mineral fertilizer costs in total production costs reached the highest value of 26.99%. The structure of indirect costs of sugar beet production followed a similar pattern. In 2020 and 2021, they differed by 269.81 PLN (Figure 6). In 2022, the indirect costs of sugar beet cultivation increased significantly. The difference compared to 2021 was 2321.39 PLN, which was due to the overall rise in prices for virtually all production inputs. As a result, the profitability of sugar beet production in 2022 decreased by 1100.55 PLN compared to 2021 (Figure 6). Figure 5: Distribution of revenue from sugar beet production (2022/2023). This drop in income was mainly caused by an unexpected increase in input prices--particularly mineral fertilizers, which increased by more than 200% in 2022 (compared to 2020 and 2021). These costs contributed to a 1.65% increase in the share of direct costs for that year. The analysis of costs shows that the reduction in income was not offset by the increase of 47.48 PLN in the purchase price of sugar beets and the sugar surcharge of 339.45 PLN compared to the 2020 season. Moreover, the 1.65% reduction in the share of indirect costs did not result in improved income either, compared to both 2020 and 2022. Although the financial result in 2022 remained positive for growers, it was achieved at a significantly lower level. Basic statistical analyses were conducted, and the results are presented in Table 5. Basic statistical analysis. A graphical interpretation of the results is shown in Figures 7 and 8. Both indirect and direct costs showed an upward trend. In 2022, the increase in costs was approximately 96% compared to 2021. The cost changes exhibit a non-linear pattern, which makes forecasting future trends more difficult [46]. Figure 6: Comparison of direct costs from sugar beet production in 2020–2022. 1—Direct costs, 2—Indirect costs, 3—Agricultural income. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Name** & **Mean** &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Std.** \\ **Dev.** \\ \end{tabular} & **Min** & **Max** & **Size** \\ \hline Revenue & 10,727.93 & 1891.74 & 9323.63 & 12,879.09 & 3 \\ Costs of plant & 796.52 & 24.54 & 780.46 & 824.78 & 3 \\ protection products & 1903.64 & 1088.83 & 1204.01 & 3158.14 & 3 \\ Direct costs & 3483.17 & 1091.66 & 2760.72 & 4738.98 & 3 \\ Direct surplus & 7244.76 & 809.99 & 6562.91 & 8140.12 & 3 \\ Costs of services & 1337.12 & 289.99 & 1136.09 & 1669.51 & 3 \\ Indirect costs & 4214.98 & 2383.2 & 2736.14 & 6964.23 & 3 \\ Income & 3029.78 & 1610.77 & 1175.88 & 4086.68 & 3 \\ Total costs & 7698.15 & 3474.17 & 5496.86 & 11,703.21 & 3 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 5: Basic statistical analysis. Both agricultural income and costs increased in 2021 compared to 2020, while a sharp rise in costs in 2022 led to a significant reduction in income. The greatest variability was observed in indirect costs, followed by fertilizer and direct costs. This resulted in increased dispersion of total costs. Notably, total plant protection costs showed low variability. Service costs also exhibited less dispersion compared to indirect, fertilizer, and direct costs. As seen in the correlation between costs and revenues, the dispersion of revenue values also increased. It should be noted that the positive financial result from sugar beet cultivation is ensured by the sugar surcharge per hectare, amounting to PLN 1524.16, along with the direct payment per hectare. The presence of these subsidies makes sugar beet cultivation profitable.