The last sugar beet factory in California is closing after almost 80 years in business.
The Spreckels Sugar Company factory in Brawley in the Imperial Valley has already begun the closure process that will soon lead to the loss of 700 local jobs.
The Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative, which owns and runs the factory, said it could no longer keep up with declining sugar prices as well as post-pandemic inflationary pressures.
The factory was the last of its kind in the state that turned the root sugar beet into sugar, and marks the latest of a series of companies to leave California.
The cooperative will now ‘focus its resources’ on a more profitable plant in Renville, Minnesota, the company said in a statement.
While production phases out the factory will remain open. It will close for good towards the end of this year or early 2026.
It is unlikely any other sugar beet factory will spring up to replace it, as strict federal regulations block the Imperial Valley from processing beets at any other facility, according to the LA Times.
‘This was a difficult decision brought about by factors largely out of our control,’ Paul Fry, chief executive of the cooperative, told the publication.
The Spreckels Sugar Company factory in Brawley will likely close at the end of the year
Sugar beet grows well in the Imperial Valley thanks to the nutrient-rich soil, year-round sunshine and water from the Colorado River
‘Despite our extensive investments in the facility, the economic challenges facing the sugar industry have been building for several years as the costs of operating the Spreckels facility have continued to escalate,’ Fry explained.
The closure of the factory is a devastating blow to the Southern California region where unemployment rates are high and agriculture is the second-largest creator of jobs.
The closure will wipe out a $243 million industry in the state, Imperial County officials told local news KPBS.
Since 2000, 28 sugar beet and sugar cane factories have closed in the US, leaving just 43 left, the LA Times reported.
Sugar beet grows well in the Imperial Valley thanks to the nutrient-rich soil, year-round sunshine and water from the Colorado River.
‘It’s not the first time a crop has left the Imperial Valley,’ local sugar beet farmer Ben Abatti III told KPBS.
‘The million dollar-question is, what do we grow now?’
Other industries, including alcohol, are also leaving California.
Since 2000, 28 sugar beet and sugar cane factories have closed in the US, leaving just 43 left
The second largest alcohol distributor in the US announced it is pulling out of California (Pictured: Vineyards in Napa Valley)
California Governor Gavin Newsom has faced backlash from some companies about the business environment in the state
Republic National Distributing, the second largest alcohol distributor in the US, recently announced it is pulling out of California, blaming the rising costs of doing business in the state.
The departure of a wholesale giant from the largest wine market in the US is also a warning sign for an industry which is already struggling as Americans increasingly cut back on alcohol.
Republic National Distributing President and CEO Bob Hendrickson said: ‘This decision is driven by rising operational costs, industry headwinds, and supplier changes that made the market unsustainable.’
He added that the company is ‘using this moment to sharpen our focus and reinvest in the markets where we’re best positioned to grow’, naming Texas and Kentucky.
It comes as Marcus Lemonis, the executive chairman of Bed Bath & Beyond, said the company will not open any stores in California as it tries to stage a comeback.
He blasted the business environment in the state, and said he wants Governor Gavin Newsom out of office.
‘We want to be in markets where we can actually make a profit,’ Lemonis said in an interview on Newsmax.
‘And we don’t wake up every morning wondering if we’re gonna be sued by some class action lawsuit or over-regulated by a local government.’
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