USA & Mexico: Mexican craft brewers visit the US to learn about US malting barley production

A U.S. Grains Council (USGC) trade team of Mexican craft brewers visited the United States recently to familiarize themselves with U.S. malting barley production and learn about new barley variety development and U.S. quality standards, Grains.org reported on July 7.

The brewing industry in Mexico is growing stronger and becoming more aggressive with many players making substantial investments in new brewing, malting and bottle manufacturing plants. These investments represent additional demand for malting barley as well as for barley malt.

This program focused on building connections with U.S. farmers and barley malt suppliers and developing concepts for new long-term purchasing strategies.

Craft brewery growth is currently hindered because breweries find difficulty in obtaining barley malt (and other inputs) for the beer. Craft breweries also face challenges importing ingredients from Europe under the tariff rate quota (TRQ) because the large breweries control this quota.

08 July, 2016