CORRECTED-French sugar beet growers expect 2.5% harvest increase

(Corrects paragraph 3 to show 16% sugar content, not 16 degrees) PARIS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Sugar beet production in France is expected to reach 32.4 million metric tons this year, up from about 31.6 million in 2023, due to a rise in the area sown and despite a small drop in yields, growers group CGB said on Wednesday. The CGB's projection was well below the French farm ministry's latest forecast of 33.7 million tons, based on estimates by Nov. 1. Crop estimates are based on sugar content of 16%. Sugar production from the crop was expected at 3.9 million tons in the 2024/25 season while total alcohol and ethanol output was forecast at 8 million hectolitres, the CGB said. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide Editing by David Goodman) (([email protected]; +336 8774 4148;))