Base Currency: Euro, EUR on 27-August-2004 1 EUR = 1.2105 USD 1 EUR = 0.6741 GBP 1 EUR = 1.5832 CAD 1 EUR = 1.7213 AUD 1 EUR = 132.69 JPY 1 EUR = 3.5807 BRL 1 EUR = 35.3829 RUB	Base Currency: US Dollar on 27-August-2004 1 USD = 0.8264 EUR 1 USD = 0.5568 GBP 1 USD = 1.3079 CAD 1 USD = 1.4219 AUD 1 USD = 109.62 JPY 1 USD = 2.958 BRL 1 USD = 29.23 RUB
EUR/USD Chart

BELFAST: Northern Ireland's only brewery is to close with the loss of up to 85 jobs after failing to find a buyer, its Belgian owner Interbrew says. The Bass Ireland Ulster Brewery has been brewing beer at the site in Andersonstown, in west Belfast, for 107 years, but its future has been in doubt since it lost a profitable bottling contract with the Lucozade sports drink earlier this year. "The conclusion of the bottling contract in December (2004) and the resulting increased costs to the remaining brewery and kegging operations, along with a general overcapacity within the industry, meant that a viable manufacturing operation would no longer be sustainable," said Interbrew UK supply chain director David Randall in a statement on Tuesday. "That situation and the lack of a suitable purchaser have resulted in today's announcement." The brewery, which makes Bass ale and Tennent's lager and kegs Stella Artois, is the largest private employer in west Belfast, an area of high unemployment. Located in a Catholic heartland of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), it was also one of the few employers in the city where Catholics and Protestants continued to work side-by-side throughout Northern Ireland's decades-long sectarian conflict. Gerry Adams, leader of the IRA's political ally Sinn Fein, said the decision was a blow to the regeneration of the area. "Over the past year we met with Interbrew, the British and Irish governments, potential buyers and worked with local trade unions to try and save these jobs," he said. "I continued to speak with Interbrew right up to last night."

MOSCOW: A sweeping ban on beer advertising has become law in Russia in a move aimed at curbing Russians' vast alcohol intake and changing attitudes to a beverage which the country officially terms a soft drink. The ban, which the Kremlin confirmed had been signed by President Vladimir Putin, reflects growing concerns about alcoholism in Russia where attempts to wean people off their centuries-old love for vodka has helped fuel a post-Soviet boom in beer consumption. But it means a headache for broadcasters and sports federations, who are faced with problems such as how to show day-time live sports if one or both teams are wearing shirts emblazoned with beer logos. The tough new law bans beer adverts on radio and television between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and places strict restrictions on those which can be broadcast. "Any advertisement promoting beer or drinks made of beer should not state that beer-drinking can lead to social, sporting or personal success or improve one's physical or mental state," reads the law, posted on the official www.kremlin.ru Web site. Besides that, ads must not show humans, animals and even animated characters -- or suggest that beer can quench thirst. Advertisers must also allocate at least 10 percent of broadcast time or ad space to warn about the potential harm of beer drinking. Kommersant business daily said the law, officially signed on August 20, would come into effect on September 5. Russia is one of the world's fastest growing markets for beer, which is available 24 hours at most kiosks for almost the same price as a can of juice and with no age requirement. Brewers such as Carlsberg, Scottish & Newcastle and Sun Interbrew are major players in the Russian market.

BRAZIL: AmBev is to launch the first non-alcoholic beer with zero alcohol content, according to press reports. O Estado de Sao Paulo said yesterday (24 Aug) that AmBev hopes to create a new sector in Brazil. According to Brazilian regulations, non-alcoholic beers, including AmBev’s Kronenbier, can have up to 0.5% alcohol content. This non-alcoholic beer sector currently holds 0.75% market share, the newspaper noted. The non-alcoholic beer, known as Liber, will initially be distributed in the south and south-east regions, which account for 88% of domestic consumption, the newspaper reported.

ST. LOUIS: Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. plans to roll out an aluminum bottle on some of its high-end beers this fall, a new trend among brewers. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that A-B would begin testing the new containers this fall in bars, clubs and convenience stores for its Michelob, Michelob Light and Anheuser World Select beers. In 1999, Diageo PLC's Smirnoff Ice experimented with an aluminum bottle, but the product was shunned by many men as a "female drink." More recently, Heineken NV, branching out from its distinctive green glass bottle, began selling aluminum cans shaped like beer kegs nationally. Pittsburgh Brewing Co. is the first brewer to roll out the aluminum bottles, announcing Tuesday its plans to package its Iron City beer in the bottles this month. "We believe it's going to be a package of the future," said Joseph Piccirilli, vice chairman of the brewer, which invested $300,000 to convert bottling equipment to handle the new aluminum container. Piccirilli said aluminum bottles offer advantages over glass bottles. The bottles have three times the aluminum of a typical beer can, they are unbreakable, and Piccirilli said beer would stay cool up to 50 minutes in the bottles. The aluminum bottle is expected to cost the brewer about twice as much as a glass bottle, or about 30 cents.

BRUSSELS: The price of a glass of Stella or Jupiler beer will go up by 3.4 percent from 1 September, it emerged on Wednesday. This will mean paying 12 cents more for your glass of beer. The rise comes just eight months after a 2.5 percent increase in January. According to the world's largest beer brewer, Interbrew, prices are spiralling because of increased energy costs and more expensive raw materials.

CHINA: SABMiller has revealed plans to build a new brewery in southern China. The brewer plans to spend RMB680m (US$82.3M) on the new brewery with its joint venture partner China Resources Enterprise Ltd. In a statement issued today (26 Aug.), China Resources said that construction will begin in November on the facility, located in the southern city of Dongguan. Operations are expected to begin in early 2006. SABMiller holds a 49% stake in China Resources Breweries. The remaining 51% is owned by China Resources. The southern China region is considered an affluent market, with China Resources Enterprise believing that construction of a new brewery rather than acquisition is the best way to gain access to the market. Earlier this year, SABMiller lost out to Anheuser-Busch in a biddng war for China's Harbin Brewery.

Malt News

LITHUANIA : Viking Malt, with its operative centre in Lahti, Finland, has officially opened its new malting in Panevezys, Lithuania on 26 August 2004. Current and future customers, raw material suppliers and representatives of authorities, all in all around 150 guests visited the ceremony. In addition to the new maltings of 60.000 tonnes annual capacity, the investment includes
- modernization of barley intake
- new silo capacity for malting barley
- modernization of the existing silo for malt storage and malt deliveries
- possibility to easily increase capacity up to 120.000 tonnes
The value of the investment is around EUR 28 million. With this new production unit, together with the almost finished construction of a second malting house in Halmstad, Sweden, Viking Malt will have a total annual malt capacity of 340.000 tonnes... more info, read Viking Malt press release from our site

RUSSIA: The brewing giant Baltika opened a new malt plant in Tula, central European Russia. The project and construction cost of 32 million US$ and started from June 2003. The pay-back period of project are planed of 7 years. Production capacity: 105 thousands tones per year. Today Russian breweries needs about 1300 thousands tones per year and they have a cover of 650 thousands from Russian mating plants. The project aims to up the company's own supply of malt in an effort to reduce production costs. Investments of the leader of brewing into processing barley putting Russia on the international market of malt, providing thus a powerful push to development of an agriculture of the country. “Baltika” brewery was found in 1990 and registered in June 1992, with authorized capital stock of 120572800 rub. Which a divided in 107087200 simple securities and 13485600 privileged securities, type “A” with nominal 1 rub. The main shareholder is Baltic Beverage Holding AB /75,5%

Barley News

EUROPE: Feed barley markets were dominated by offers from the Black Sea. Russia has harvested 17,5 Mill. tons of grains from 12 % of its grain acreage. The part of coarse grains, mainly barley, is about 4 Mill. tons. Ukrainian figures are: 16,9 Mill. tons of grains harvested of 50 % of the acreage. It includes 5,4 Mill. tons of barley, average yield so far is 2,66 tons/Ha. Frequent rains slow down harvesting, the Ukraine also reports lodging and heavy aftergrowth of weeds. Nevertheless analysts expect malting barley receivals amounting to 1 Mill. tons. Prices had tumbled down to below US $ 100,- C+F Saudi Arabia, but lately recovered to levels around US $ 120,- / 125,- C+F Mediterranean/Middle East. Barley purchases by Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria were much larger than forecast. Farmers and first hand in the Ukraine were no or reluctant sellers, which led to the strong price recovery. The government announced “intervention” purchases of 3 Mill. tons, mainly wheat, which may help to stabilize the whole grain market.

Theoretical malt prices.


* - 70/30 = 70% Average two Rows Spring and 30% Six Rows Winter
** - 50/50 = 50% Average two Rows Spring and 50% Six Rows Winter

Theoretical malt prices for crop 2003 are not quoted.

Malting barley prices. French barley prices.

Nominal prices.

EURO = USD 1.2105 August 27, 2004
Crop year		2003		2004
Parity		FOB Creil		FOB Creil
Position		July 2003		July 2004
Type	Variety	EURO	USD	EURO	USD
2RS	Scarlett	nq	nq	112.00	135.50
2RS	Prestige	nq	nq	111.00	134.50
2RS	Cellar	nq	nq	111.50	135.00
2RS	Aspen	nq	nq	110.50	134.00
2RS	Optic	nq	nq	110.50	134.00
2RS	Astoria	nq	nq	110.00	133.50
2RS	Cork	nq	nq	110.00	133.50
6RW	Esterel	nq	nq	101.00	122.50

nq - Not quoted

Prices for Danish and UK malting barley are available on site www.e-malt.com/MarketPrices

Table of the week

USA crop prospects
Crop prospects have improved in the West, the USDA estimates barley crop as follows:

(in 1000 tons)	2003	2004
North Dakota	2,587	1,961
Idaho	1,035	1,258
Montana	688	866
TOTAL USA	6,011	5,737

Graph of the week

Agenda

August 2004:
Great British Beer Festival;
Worcester Beer and Cider Festival;
BeerTek China Beer and Brewing Technology Exhibition;
Peterborough Beer Festival 2004;
FOODWORLD Food and Beverage Exhibition;
TecnoBebida Latin America International Exhibition of Technologies for the Beverage Industry;

September 2004:
6th BELGIAN BEER WEEKEND;
China Brew 2004 / China Beverage 2004;
International Brewery and Soft Drinks Industry Exhibition;
FOOD & BEVERAGE PROCESSING & PACKAGING INDONESIA 2004;
Pivoindustria International Beer Industry Exhibition;
National Beer Wholesalers Show 2004;
PAN ASIAN FOOD & BEVERAGE TRADE SHOW 2004;
Barley Malt Quality Evaluation Short Course;
EUROMALT BARLEY SEMINAR 2004;
bevex Beverage Trade Fair;
InterBev 2004;
YUGOSLAVIA INTERNATIONAL FAIR OF FOOD & BEVERAGES 2004;
BevExpo 2004;
Great American Beer Festival;
OCTOBERFEST Famous German Beer Festival;

October 2004:
OCTOBERFEST Famous German Beer Festival;
Great American Beer Festival;
bevex Beverage Trade Fair. Germany;
Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival;
ST. PETERSBURG FOOD SALON 2004;
Beer Fair. Spain;
Expo Bebidas Beverage Exhibition. Mexico;
EXPOALIMENTOS Y BEBIDAS 2004. Panama;
Fall Eastern PA Breweriana;
Knoxville Brewer's Jam - A Memorial to Tom Rutledge;
INTERPRODTECH Food and Beverages Processing Exhibition. Russia;
Alko and Drinks Show Alcoholic Beverages and Non-alcoholic Drinks Exhibition. Russia;
WORLD FOOD KAZAKHSTAN 2004;
PAN ASIAN FOOD & BEVERAGE TRADE SHOW 2004. Canada;

More events are available on site e-malt.com