Non-alcoholic beer in Czech Republic has surged as stricter rules for drivers were introduced at the start of July, AFP cited Czech daily Lidove Noviny reported on Tuesday, September 19. Martin Novak, manager of the Staropramen brewery, commented: "Just in July and August we saw sales of non-alcoholic beer in grocery stores rise by 81%."

The new law, penalising drivers with points for every drink-driving infringement and a driving ban if they exceed the limit, is the main factor behind the rise, Novak said. Sales of market leader, Radegast Birrell, have risen by a quarter this year, the paper added.

In any case, "Czechs are trying to live healthier lives", the manager of the Czech breweries association, Jan Vesely, added. Average annual per capita beer of over 160 litres puts Czech among the biggest beer drinkers in the world.

But Vesely predicted that expected consumption on non-alcoholic beer this year of around 240,000 hectolitres could triple within three years.

Staropramen is owned by Belgian-based multinational INBev; Radegast is part of SABMiller's international beer empire.

Latvian brewery Aldaris’ beer sales for the last eight months recorded 42.4 million l, 10% more year-on-year, The Russian Brewers Union learned September 18 from Ilmar Iargans, Aldaris’ head of public relations division.

Aldaris’ exports in Baltic countries increased by 22% while overall shipments hiked by 32%.

The legendary history of the traditional Latvian beer brewery Aldaris, a joint venture between Carlsberg, Scottish & Newcastle’s and Baltic Beverages Holding, started centuries ago, in 1865. Nowadays Aldaris is the biggest brewery in Latvia and one of the biggest in the Baltic.

The failure of the EU malting barley crop changed markets and the state of the malting industry once more. Lack of barley supplies and sky-high barley prices require a great skill to be covered against the risks on the raw material side, experts worried September 01. It is therefore not surprising to see that a number of maltsters have withdrawn from selling malt in general or in special cases.

The cost of malting barley will be the highest in South and East Germany, Czech, Poland, possibly other Central European countries, where the crops were the worst and the cost of acquisition of French or Danish barley is much higher than for malting factories along the coast or along large waterways.

It is there, where one expects a lower malt production in the season 2006/07. As per experts’ calculation it means that the industry may produce again 850.000 tons less than capacity. Adding this to the former factory closures, the EU malting industry will produce less malt than needed.

Malting barley qualities are quite satisfactory in the Center and East of the Ukraine and in the Southern half of the Russian Black Soil belt. In the Western Ukraine and in the north of the Russian malting barley belt rains halted harvesting and led and will lead to the downgrading of 15 - 20 % of their spring barley crops, analyst estimated September 01.

Otherwise barley specifications and first micro-malting results indicate correct qualities. Russia must be able to find its large malting barley needs in local markets. Export availabilities from both countries will be negligible, if any.

World barley trade in 2006/07 (July/June) is forecast by International Grain Council IGC at 17.6 million tones, almost unchanged from last year (17.8 million). The increase is partly due to a higher import figure for the EU. Larger shipments are expected to Europe and USA. While some drops in imports by North Africa are projected.

IGC forecast EU barley imports for 2006/07 at 0.5m. tonnes, 0.1 million tonnes higher than before, amid firm feed demand and expected competitive supplies from Ukraine.

A favourable production outlook in North Africa is forecast to reduce the region’s imports to 1.1 million tonnes (1.6 million tonnes), unchanged from July, with shipments to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia each expected at lower levels than last year.