1. Trading offer & request

At this moment there are two OFFERS for 6000 tons of malt on the trading portal www.e-malt.com

• Offer for 200-2000 mtons of malt, ASIA (2RS/6RW 50/50), crop 2003, Bags in container, delivery 1/10/2003 - 30/6/2004, at EUR 294.00/mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF1807P1432)
  
  
• Offer for 1-4000 mtons of malt, 6RW Esterel, crop 2003, Bulk, delivery 1/10/2003 - 31/7/2004, at EUR 257.00/mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF1807P1501)
  
  

 Top Industry News 

More news is available on site www.e-malt.com  

• The Japanese tend to drink low-malt happoshu on a daily basis, while they enjoy beer with visitors, a survey on drinking habits revealed ...more info



• Czech brewer, Prazske Pivovary, will change its name to Pivovary Staropramen, with effect from October 13, 2003. That was the decision approved by the brewery’s shareholders ...more info



• The Czech Anti-Monopoly Office (UOHS) has fined CZK2.3 million the Czech brewer, Plzensky Prazdroj, over contracts with restaurants involving minimum annual beer purchases ...more info


• Chinese beer consumption grew by around 6 % in 2002, helped by steady economic growth and increasing disposable incomes, but the traditionally strong urban market could finally be reaching maturity ...more info



• The Dutch brewing force, Heineken, announced on July 18 that it had received the approval of the European Commission for the acquisition of BBAG, the leading Austrian brewery group and one of the largest brewery groups in Central Europe ...more info



• Taiwan: Lawmakers and consumers` groups are calling for an investigation into reports that some Chinese beers may contain the carcinogenic chemical- methanol ...more info



• Mexico's top brewer, Grupo Modelo, reported on July 18 a 4.7 % rise of its second-quarter net profit up to 1.486 billion pesos (US$143.3m)



• The Dutch brewing force, Heineken, has announced that the license agreement for Heineken's Amstel brand in the UK has been ended ...more info



• Philippines' San Miguel Corp said on July 18 its consolidated sales for the first five months of 2003 rose 9% from a year earlier, suggesting the Southeast Asian food and beverage giant might miss a recent first-half sales estimate ...more info



• Ukraine brewing companies belonging to the Scandinavian holding company Baltic Beverages Holding increased beer sales 14% year-on-year to 150.96 million liters in January-June 2003 ...more info




2. Brewery News

Beer sales in Latvia in the first half of 2003

Latvian breweries, members of the Latvian Breweries Union, sold 70.41 million litres of beer in the first half of the year, 12.1% more than in the same period last year. The breweries sold 25.85 million litres in the first quarter of the year and 44.56 million litres in the second quarter. About 99.5% of all Latvian breweries are members of the Union. The main leader remains Aldaris with 32.31 million litres sold in the first half of the year. It held 45.9% of Latvian beer market in that period. The second one is Lacplesa alus with 7.9 million litres and 11.2% of the beer market. The third one is Cesu alus with 7.45 million litres and 10.6% of the beer market.



Latvian breweries	Beer sales in million litres	Market share
Aldaris	32.31	45.9%
Lacplesa alus	7.90	11.2%
Cesu alus	7.45	10.6%
Grigis un Co Livu alus	7.21	10.2%
Latgales alus Mamas D	4.30	6.1%
Kimmels Riga	3.25	4.6%
Bauskas alus	2.34	3.3%
Piebalgas alus	1.31	1.9%
Agrofirma Tervete	1.15	1.6%
Varpa	1.06	1.5%
Alus avots	0.91	1.3%
Gulbenes alus	0.44	0.6%
Zaksi	0.31	0.4%
Alus tirdzniecibas grupa	0.25	0.4%
Lido	0.14	0.2%
Abula	0.04	0.1%
Kraslavas avots	0.03	0.04%
Other	0.01	0.06%
Total	70.41	100%



Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest beer brewer, has set its sights on Germany's largest beer brewing group, Hamburg- based Holsten, the daily newspaper Die Welt reported on July 21. The St. Louis, Missouri-based Anheuser Busch is also seeking to buy a stake in the renowned Czech brewer Budvar, a company with which the US brewer has long been embroiled in dispute with over the "Budweiser" brandname, the paper said, citing industry sources. A spokesman at Holsten, Udo Franke, declined to comment on the possibility of an Anheuser-Busch takeover, saying only "we are seeking a strong partner and are talking with several interested parties". Die Welt reported that the US brewer could be aiming for a deal with Christian Eisenbeiss, an investment banker who holds around 50 % of Holsten. Eisenbeiss, a 47-year-old investment banker, lives in New York and is involved in the U.S. brewing industry. The newspaper said the Eisenbeiss stake in Holsten is worth around EUR 300 million. It was also noted that Anheuser-Busch, with annual sales of USD12.2 billion, has long been seeking an inroad in the hotly-contested German beer brewing market. ...more info

Colombian brewer Bavaria said on July 18 that a fully-owned subsidiary bought 3.77 million Class A shares of Peruvian brewer Backus, according to Reuters. It is thought the company paid US$27 for each share. The move takes Bavaria's stake to 74% of Backus. Bavaria, which has been snapping up shares in Backus over the past year, said on June 25 that it had already controlled 60 % of the voting stock. It was not immediately clear how much of Backus that Bavaria would now control with an additional 3.77 million shares. Bavaria said its Panamanian unit, Latin Development Corp., bought the shares from Cavet SA and European South America Corp, without providing further details. Bavaria's increase in its investment in Backus comes at a moment when Brazilian brewer AmBev gets ready to enter the Peruvian beer market with an investment of $38 million in the construction of a plant. Bavaria, controlled by Colombian businessman Julio Mario Santo Domingo, is Latin America's fourth-largest beer producer, dominating markets in its own country as well as in Peru, Panama and Ecuador.

3. Malt News

Malt prospects for the new crop year do not look any better. There are three reasons: One is the untimely construction of new maltings in Russia, the Ukraine and at least four countries of the EU. Reason No. 2 is the expectation of lower exports, to Russia, Japan and other markets. Canada will be a competitor again in Latin America. Maybe the worst part of the prospects is the lower beer output in the EU, worst of all in Germany, where the May produced a sales figure of minus 9,6 %, resulting in a total of minus 7,1 % for the calendar year. Heineken gave a somber outlook on beer sales in Europe and elsewhere in their financial report of the first quarter. Interbrew countered with a much more positive report, which might have been influenced by their good performance in Russia and Ukraine. Sales are also down in Japan, not only for beer, but also for the first time in May also for happoshu.

4. Barley News

Germany: The DBV farming federation said winter barley plantings in southern and south-western Germany and in the eastern states were 80% harvested and yields were much lower than last year. In southwest Germany, yields were 15-30% lower, and yields in east Germany were 35-75% less than last year.