In March 2007 the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry approved state-owned brewery Habeco's choice of Carlsberg as strategic partner in connection with the initial privatization of Habeco, according to Carlsberg’s press release, April 23.

The initial privatization took place on 28 March 2008, and Habeco has confirmed that Carlsberg will become the owner of 16% of the shares in Habeco. Carlsberg will pay the same price per share as other investors who participated in the public offer (VND 50,015 per share, equal to approx. USD 3.10/share).

The total consideration to be paid by Carlsberg is approx. USD 115.6 million, or DKK 545 million.

Habeco is market leader in the northern Vietnam where Carlsberg is present through its brewery joint venture in Hanoi. The partnership will provide opportunities for both Habeco and Carlsberg to further jointly strengthen their market positions in northern Vietnam but also in central Vietnam where Carlsberg is market leader through its brewery joint venture in Hué. Carlsberg and Habeco are already partners in southern Vietnam where a new brewery will be constructed.

"Habeco’s choice of Carlsberg as strategic partner, and Carlsberg's entry as shareholder, is a crucial step forward for our businesses in Vietnam, and it creates a solid ...More Info

Tsingtao Brewery Co., the Chinese beer company partly owned by Anheuser-Busch Cos., fell the most in more than a month in Shanghai trading after reporting 2007 profit that missed analysts' estimates, Bloomberg reported April 22.

Tsingtao's Shanghai-traded shares slid as much as 9 percent to 20.03 yuan, headed for the biggest decline since March 18, and traded at 21.35 yuan at the 11:30 a.m. trading break. The Hong Kong-listed shares dropped 3 percent to HK$19.22.

Full-year net income was 538.9 million yuan ($77 million) based on international accounting standards, the Qingdao, Shandong province-based company said in a statement late yesterday. That was below a projected profit of 639.4 million, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of four analysts.

``The discrepancy was because of a higher income tax rate applied to the earnings,'' said Zhang Yun, an analyst at Huatai Securities Co. in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing. ``Tsingtao is increasing margins by selling more premium beer.''

Tsingtao seeks to boost beer sales by 14 percent this year as it faces a higher income tax rate. The brewer, founded in 1903 when the city of Qingdao was under German rule, paid 33 percent taxes last year and will pay a rate ...More Info

Kirin Brewery Co. said it has raised its annual sales target of carbohydrate-free "happoshu" low-malt beer-like beverage Kirin Zero to six million cases from the earlier planned four million because of brisk sales, Jiji Press reported April 22.

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

Sales of Kirin Zero, launched in February, are expected to reach two million cases by the end of this month. Asahi Breweries Ltd.'s Style Free is currently leading the carb-free happoshu market with an annual sales target of 10 million cases.

Between January and March, overall shipments of beer and quasi beer dropped 2.6 pct from the same period last year due to price hikes at major beer makers.

But sales of happoshu that are low-carb or have reduced calories are strong, capturing a 45 pct share of the happoshu market, equivalent to a 10 pct share in the overall beer and quasi beer market. The strong showing is thanks to the increasing health-consciousness of consumers.

Competition among carb-free happoshus, which contain less than 0.5 gram of carbohydrate per 100 milliliters, is intensifying, with new products Zero Nama made by Suntory Ltd. and Viva! Life from Sapporo Breweries Ltd. launched in the past two months.

The world's largest brewer by volume, InBev, is likely to start operations in Bangalore, right at the heart of Vijay Mallya’s brewing empire, TNN reported April 23. InBev through its joint venture partner Ravi Jaipuria has taken over operations of Bangalore-based brewery H Dasappa & Sons Pvt Ltd for rolling out beer brands — Tennents and Lowenbrau — initially, to be followed by Beck’s, sources said.

Dasappa Breweries, with installed capacity of 1.40 lakh cases (of 7.8 litre each) per month, was a contract bottler to Shaw Wallace Breweries. It is believed that InBev India International is in the midst of reviving the idling unit, with Alfa Laval reportedly roped in for readying the brewery.

InBev JV has begun work at the Dasappa plant on a long-term management contract, a company spokesperson confirmed to ET. The Gurgaon-based JV has already listed its three brands with some of the state beverages corporations down south to be supplied from Dasappa.

InBev, in all probability, is expected to kick off its market presence from Dasappa, with its contract tie-up with Goa-based Impala Breweries being delayed following concerns regarding the brew quality. The JV company has been scouting for manufacturing footprint in other parts, and has had ...More Info

SABMiller has launched Peroni Nastro Azzurro in Russia, The Morning Advertiser published April 23.

The move is part of a £25 million international rollout for the brand.

The Italian beer has seen international sales increase 72% over the last year, according to the brewer.

To mark the launch, Peroni hosted a Moscow themed party in Arsenal last night, which featured Italian fashion designer Antonio Berardi.

“Russians have long had a love affair with all things Italian, associating their goods with elegance, craftsmanship and authenticity," said SAB Miller managing director James Wilson.

"They are becoming increasingly demanding and appreciate brands with quality, strong heritage and international appeal.”

Chris Taylor, SABMiller’s international brand director for Peroni added: "Peroni’s unique Italian style positioning, as well as the huge opportunities opening up in the Eastern markets, means the brand is well placed to be very successful in Russia."

Bulgarian beer ‘Boliyarka' company starts to export beer for Spain and Cyprus, Bulgarian News reported April 18.

The abroad sales are planned to reach capacity of 70 to 100 thousands hectoliters of beer.

Thanks to the six new cylindrical containers for fermentation of the beer the sales are expected to increase with 5-10% and the export to Romania to double.

The brewery's execute director shared the factory intends to launch for sаlе new sort of beer own production, which will be of new class and will be bottled in 330 and 500 ml bottles.

Other renewal of ‘Boliyarka' company is the beer with transparent self-sticking label.

The factory invested 1 million EUR in the new technology ‘Clear label' which brought it an award from the Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski and the big award of Bulgarian Chambers of Commerce - ‘Ikar' statue.

New strains of malting barley and more efficient production methods will be the keys to maintaining beer production in the face of climate change, according to two leading industry figures, Cooper’s beer company reported in a press release, April 21.

Dr Doug Stewart, the Technical Manager for ABB Grain malting subsidiary Joe White Maltings and Dr Tim Cooper, the Managing Director and Chief Brewer for Coopers Brewery, said suggestions that climate change would lead to reduced barley crops and higher prices were of serious concern.

The claims were made by Dr Jim Salinger, a climate scientist at the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research at the recent Institute of Brewing and Distilling convention in New Zealand.

Dr Salinger said it was likely climate change would cause a decline in production of malting barley in parts of Australia and New Zealand as dry areas became drier and water shortages worsened. However, Dr Stewart of Joe White Maltings said variable climate, marked by more frequent, severe frost and drought was a greater threat to regular barley production than gradual climate change.

“The Barley Improvement Group at the University of Adelaide, headed by Dr Jason Eglinton, is making considerable improvements in the area ...More Info

According to the Deputy Prime-Minister of Ukraine Alexander Turchinov, the quotas for barley export may be cancelled at the end of April 2008, Agri Market reported April 18.

At that, he noted that grain export quotation would be cancelled if the Ministry of Agrarian Policy estimates the stocks at the local market as sufficient.

Silvia E. GERMÁN Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria La Estanzuela, Colonia, Uruguay, South America

ABSTRACT
The annual average area sown with barley (Hordeum vulgare) in South America during 1999–2003 was 795 000 ha. In Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, two-rowed spring cultivars are used mostly for malt production. Research has been developed in private malting companies and official institutions supported by the industry. In Argentina, tolerance to drought and heat stress during grain filling are important in drier areas. Yield and malt extract had been improved in cultivars released from 1940 to 1998. In Brazil, progress in grain yield, grain size, malting quality, early maturity, and resistance to net blotch, powdery mildew, and leaf rust has been achieved by EMBRAPA and malting companies. Higher tolerance to soil acidity and resistance to spot blotch are required. Since 1976, malting barley breeding in INIA-Chile has improved grain yield, grain size, beer production efficiency, and resistance to scald, net blotch, stripe rust, and leaf rust. Uruguay produces high quality malt exported mainly to Brazil. Malting companies have released locally bred and introduced cultivars since the early 1970’s. Initiated in 1988, INIA-Uruguay breeding program has improved yield, malting quality, and lodging and disease resistance. Fusarium head blight is a new challenge for research in Brazil and Uruguay. Information regarding malting barley production, the most important stresses in different areas of production, and breeding progress under South American conditions is provided. Keywords: Hordeum vulgare L.; plant breeding; stress conditions; Argentina; Brazil; Chile; Uruguay
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