Furious farming leaders have demanded government intervention to stop an "unfolding crisis" over sugar beet contracts.

British Sugar sparked outrage earlier this week by making a price offer to its 2,300 beet growers - while active negotiations are still under way with industry representatives from the National Farmers' Union's sugar board (NFU Sugar).

The company's agriculture director, Dan Green, said the "competitive" core price of £38 per tonne was offered because anxious growers had been calling for "the security of a contract" after months of talks had failed to reach an agreement.

But the NFU, which is seeking a better price to reflect high world sugar prices, says this unilateral contract offer is "in total disregard for the integral role played by the NFU in these negotiations and is a violation of the vital protection which the NFU provides to growers".

NFU president Minette Batters has written to Defra farming minister Mark Spencer, demanding a statement to industry by Monday, confirming both the NFU’s role under retained EU laws, and "the invalidity of contracts formed on the basis of BS’s unilateral contract offer".

She also says the processor's "deliberate circumvention of the statutory process" has made it "impossible" for this year’s negotiations to continue - so she called on Defra to step in and exercise its powers under the Food Act to "determine the terms for the supply of sugar beet for the 2024/25 contract year".

Her letter says: "BS’s unilateral 2024/25 contract offer, made without the NFU’s countervailing influence, is deeply troubling and represents an abrupt departure from the established process for the agreement of supply terms for the industry. Furthermore, it is not permitted under the relevant legal and regulatory framework."

A British Sugar spokesman said the company would not comment further, but reiterated that it "remains committed to working through the negotiation process with the NFU and we hope this can be concluded swiftly". 

The firm also says there is "no downside to growers" by signing contracts now as "we will honour the price, terms and conditions set out in the contract pack, even if the commercial terms which are ultimately reached with the NFU through negotiation and dispute resolution are worth less".

It adds: "If the commercial terms reached change, we will of course offer all growers the right to move to those new terms."