Three of Japan's four major brewers project lower sales of beer and quasi-beer products in 2008 than in the previous year as the domestic market shrinks, according to their business plans, Jiji Press reported January 10.

Suntory Ltd., the smallest of the four, was the only company that projected a sales increase. The company expects to increase its sales by 1.8 pct to 55.5 million cases.

One case contains the equivalent of 20 633-milliliter bottles.

Asahi Breweries Ltd. expects sales of 184 million cases, down 1.8 pct, while Kirin Brewery Co.'s sales are projected at 185.6 million cases, down 0.4 pct.

Sapporo Breweries Ltd. expects to sell 60.5 million cases, down 1.7 pct.

The brewers' bearish projections are attributable in part to their planned price hikes due to a rise in the materials costs.

Mexico's leading brewer Modelo, the maker of Corona beer, raised domestic beer prices by an average of 3.5 percent to 4.0 percent, a company official said, according to Reuters, January 10. The price increase was not uniform among Modelo's brands and not the same throughout the country, but was an average across its beers and its markets. "It is not the same increase everywhere," the official told Reuters.

The hike, implemented in December, comes as the government tries to keep a lid on spiraling inflation. Mexico's leading retailers agreed to cut prices on 300 household goods from Thursday until the end of March.

Modelo's share price, already higher in a wider market rebound, gained further on the price increase news. Its stock was up 2.23 percent to 52.65 pesos.

Modelo, half-owned by U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch Inc (BUD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and which also produces Negra Modelo, Pacifico and Montejo beers, has a long held policy of annually raising its domestic beer prices broadly in line with inflation.

"Basically the prices were raised in line with inflation for 2007, which is between 3.5 and 4.0 percent, more or less," the official said.

Mexican inflation came in at 3.76 percent in 2007, within the central bank's ...More Info

British brewer Scottish & Newcastle squashed a third break-up bid offer from Heineken and Carlsberg on, insisting that the consortium bidders would have to increase their £7.6 billion ($14.9 billion) proposal to £7.8 billion ($15.3 billion) before any discussion could begin, Forbes published January 10. Though it may seem like one rejection too many, Scottish & Newcastle currently has an ace up its sleeve that could pay off.

The British brewer has launched arbitration proceedings against Carlsberg, accusing the company of violating the terms of their 50-50 joint venture in Eastern Europe. The venture, known as Baltic Beverage Holdings, is part of the reason Carlsberg is teaming up with Heineken to buy Scottish & Newcastle: it wants to take full control of the brewer's lucrative Eastern European footprint.

But analysts believe that the arbitration ruling, due in Stockholm in July, could very well find Scottish & Newcastle in the right. Such a development would allow the British brewer to buy Carlsberg's stake in Baltic Beverage Holdings, thereby dashing the Danish brewer's ambitions and giving Scottish & Newcastle serious leverage as the beer battle bubbles over.

Shares in Scottish & Newcastle spiked during early trading in London to 750 pence ($14.74), but retreated just ...More Info

Soaring beer price dampened the brewing industry’s growth party with volume surge softening in the recent quarters, TNN reported January 8. India’s beer consumption that clocked 28% jump in the last financial year is growing at 14% in the first nine month period of FY2008.

This is despite a robust 20% growth reported in the April-June quarter. The subsequent two quarters saw volume growth dropping as beer price jumped between 12-22% in key markets on the back of increased State levies. Senior officials at the brewing giants UB and SABMiller confirmed growth rate of 13-14% in the first nine months.

There could be some more immediate softening on the anvil, as the big growth markets of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have seen a price hike in the last weeks of December. The biggest guzzler Andhra Pradesh with around 12% and Tamil Nadu with over 15% growth have been driving the year-to-date growth.

The consumer price on strong beer in Andhra Pradesh is up Rs 8 on a 650 ml pack to touch Rs 70, while in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which is the second largest market, there is a similar Rs 8 hike taking the 650 ml price to Rs ...More Info

The current Czech government is not likely to sell state-owned brewery Budvar during its term in office, ending in 2010, due to a lack of time, Thomson Financial reported January 10. However in the future all or part of the brewery should be sold to a strategic partner, the Czech agriculture minister was cited as saying.

'If (the state) really wanted to hold onto a controlling stake (in Budvar), it would be a matter of political discussion and a future government,' weekly Ekonom cited Petr Gandalovic as saying.

Prior to the sale, the ministry must transfer Budvar, valued by some government officials at 1.1 bln euro, into a joint-stock company from a national enterprise.

Gandalovic also told Czech news wire CTK that 'definitely (the privatisation) won't be this year and it's still a question if it will be next year when the Czech Republic chairs the EU. The year 2010 will be (dedicated to) an election campaign.'

Paula Risikko, the Finnish health and social services minister, was quoted as saying by business daily Kauppalehti that she was prepared to opt for a fast-track raise of beer taxation if prices of medium-strength beers fell by what the government deemed an excessive amount, STT reported January 11.

In an effort to raise the prices of beer sold in crates and cardboard packs, the government introduced a regulation at the beginning of the year saying the price of a bottle or can of beer sold as part of such a pack could not be lower than that of cans or bottles sold singly.

The result was a fall in the price of beer sold by the bottle and can.

"But the aim of tax increases has been a fall in total consumption, so it is not logical if prices fall," Ms Risikko was quoted as saying.

"I believe we will see in the summer whether another beer tax increase is required this year."

Ms Risikko told Kauppalehti that the suitable price level of medium-strength beer was that set by Alko, the government´s alcohol retail monopoly.

Prices of medium strength beer start at 1.1 euros for a 33cl bottle at Alko, compared with as low as 90 ...More Info

Under a new CWB program, farmers will be offered the option of cash-price contracts for their malting barley, plus the benefits of single-desk selling through the CWB, according to CWB’s press release, January 9.

If these contracts were available through selecting companies today, the upfront cash price for malting barley producers would be over $5 per bushel, backed off to west central Saskatchewan, with flexibility to negotiate additional terms directly with the companies.

“We’ve developed an innovative program that delivers the options farmers are looking for in barley marketing,” said Allen Oberg, CWB farmer-elected director from Forestburg, Alberta. “Farmers have indicated that they want a strong, viable CWB as well as more choice. Under this program, they will have both.”

The program announced by the CWB today is called CashPlus and is designed to suit farmer needs and add flexibility in malting barley pricing. It also responds to the malting industry’s desire for improved operational certainty in the aftermath of upheavals in the Canadian malting barley industry during 2007.

Under CashPlus, the CWB will establish a guaranteed cash price for farmers that reflects market values. Participating selectors will then contract directly with farmers. The CWB will also pay a potential additional premium to farmers ...More Info

IVAN BOHAČENKO(1), JOSEF CHMELÍK(2) and VRATISLAV PSOTA(3) (1)Food Research Institute Prague, Prague, Czech Republic; (2)Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic; (3)Research Institute of Brewing and Malting, Brno, Czech Republic

Abstract
BOHAČENKO I., CHMELÍK J., PSOTA V. (2006): Determination of the contents of A- and B-starches in barley using Low Angle Laser Light Scattering. Czech J. Food Sci., 24: 11–18. A method was proposed for the determination of the contents of A- and B-starches in barley and for the use in plant breeding stations and brewing/malting laboratories. A combination was used of classical methods (incl. crushing of barley kernels by a roll crusher, steeping in 0.02M HCl, repeated rubbing and filtering through the sieve of 0.08 mm), and novel pieces of know-how (treatment with β-glucanase and cellulase, alkalisation at pH = 10.0 and centrifugation of crude starch suspension through the layer of CsCl). In this way, barley starch of high purity was obtained at a very low loss, using Low Angle Laser Light Scattering for the determination of the size distribution of starch granules. The boundary of the particle size between the peaks of A-starch and B-starch (7 μm) was evaluated from the distribution curves, while the contents of A- and B-starches were calculated from the cumulative curves. As a whole, the method was internally validated and for its repeatability and uncertainty of measurement the stimates of standard deviation s = 1.56 and confidence interval L1,2 = x ± 1.9% were established, respectively. Taking into account the generally well known difficulties associated with the extraction of substances from biological materials, in this case the separation of starch from barley kernels, we believe that the proposed method will bring satisfactory results in practice. Keywords: barley; A-starch; B-starch; starch granules; Low Angle Laser Light Scattering
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