The public share offer for the Colombia's biggest brewer, Bavaria, will be held on December 5, Colombia's Stock Market Superintendency said on October 19 according to Reuters.

SABMiller, the Anglo-South African beer giant is offering minority holders $19.48 per share as part of its takeover plan for Bavaria agreed with the Colombian company's controlling Santo Domingo family.London-based SABMiller in July announced a $7.8 billion stock-and-cash deal, including debt and interests in subsidiaries, to take over Bavaria and create the world's No. 2 brewer by volume.

Trading in Bavaria shares was suspended at the start of Thursday in anticipation of the announcement. They closed at 43,540 pesos ($19.06) per share on Wednesday.According to Colombian law the suspension will continue until the day after SABMiller publishes notice of the public offer in Colombian newspapers.

The Australia Coopers Brewery after a long and breath-taking battle with Lion-Nathan has obtained a major victory in its bid to block Lion Nathan's A$352 million aggressive takeover attempt, reports posted on October 21.

The Supreme Court of South Australia dismissed the appeal filled by Lion Nathan trying to stop a ruling last month which offered to the Coopers shareholders the right to vote the removal of Lion Nathan’s rights to purchase the shares of Coopers.

The Association ‘Brewers of Romania’, which hold 70% of the Romanian beer market announced an increase in sales of 5,6% for the first nine months of 2005 up to 8,3 million hectolitres. The association groups the companies: Brau Union Romania S.A., Ursus Breweries S.A., Interbrew Romania S.A. and United Romanian Breweries Bereprod SRL (URBB).

In the first half of this year beer sales of ‘Brewers of Romania’ increased by 3.5% up to 4.75 million hl of beer compared to 4.585 million hl in the first half of 2004.

The four breweries have in total about 4,400 employees and invested in Romania about EUR 420 million. The taxes paid to Romanian budget were of about EUR 108 million in 2004.

Last year Romania consumed a record quantity of beer of 14.5 million hl. The average per capita consumption is of 54 litres per year, compared to 80 litres in Hungary and 160 litres in Czech Republic.

The Brewers Association of Japan held an event in Tokyo on Thursday, October 20, to campaign for cutting Japanese liquor tax that is far higher than in foreign countries, Kyodo News has communicated..

Film director Kazuyuki Izutsu, named leader of the campaign at the event, called for reducing liquor tax and opposing a government move to raise the tax on a beer-like alcoholic beverage that has grown popular due to its lower prices that include tax.

The campaign leader also invited event participants to sign a request urging the government to lower liquor tax.

The association of five Japanese brewers, including Kirin Brewery Co., complained that liquor tax in Japan is some 20 times as high as in Germany and some 10 times as high as in the United States.

It also noted that liquor and consumption taxes account for nearly 50 percent of the price of a beer in Japan.

Canadian carry-over barley stocks on the 1st of August were 3.5 million tonnes versus 2.1 million tonnes in 2004. Exports in 2004/05 were only 1.2 million tonnes as compared to 1.75 million tonnes a year earlier. Main destinations were China 674,000 tonnes, USA 186,000 tonnes, Japan 154,000 tons. At the end of September 60 % the Western Canadian crop had been harvested, the first 25-30 % of good, further 30 % of variable quality. As rainfalls have recommenced, the quality of any barley still in the fields will be of doubtful quality and condition.

Pessimists in Canada expect a malting barley pool (=total selection) of 1.5 million tonnes, optimists still hope for 1.9 million tonnes. Domestic needs may be around 900,000 tonnes, the export surplus will be between 600,000 and 1 million tonnes.

The CWB has sold new crop barley to China and remains a seller, prices in the "high 190's". Recently the Board had successfully operated in the feed barley market, but further sales will depend on domestic demand. That demand could explode, if the Canadian government really imposes an import duty on U.S. Yellow Corn. This crop year's exports are 430,000 tonnes to-date.

In the last three years the world hop acreage declined by about 700 hectares. This is an effect of the shrinkage in the acreage in Germany, Czech Republic, Australia, U.S.A. and China, according to the Hopsteiner analysts. This trend was to some extent changed as the 2005 acreage in the USA has increased by 600 hectares.

The developments in the crop 2004 market showed that the time of overproduction and excess stock would be to end.

Thus there is an expectation that the 2005-06 bitter hops market will be balanced. In the case of aroma hops it is already apparent that demand is explicitly higher than the supply. Prices have already increased accordingly.