1. Trading info

At this moment there is one OFFER for 1000 tons of malt on the trading portal www.e-malt.com

• Offer for 500-1000 mtons of malt, 6RW, Esterel(100%), crop 2002, bulk, delivery 01/07/2003 - 30/09/2003, at EUR 272.50 /mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF0503P1055)
  
  

 Top Industry News 

• Some Russian Brewing statistics. Click here
  
  
• Beer sales in Lithuania fell 6.1% to 2.86 million dekalitres in the first two months of the current year... Click here
  
  
• Danish brewer Carlsberg had raised its stake in Bulgarian brewer Pirinsko Pivo by acquiring 34,912 shares... Click here
  
  
• China's biggest beer company, Tsingtao Brewery Co., is in talks with unidentified Southeast Asian brewer to make its trademark... Click here
  
  
• Moscow-based beer and beverages combine Ochakovo is planning to build in Tyumen a plant for the production of beer... Click here

More news is available on site www.e-malt.com  

• India’s brewer, SHAW Wallace & Co Ltd, part of the Jumbo Group empire, is prepared to divest up to 50% stake in its beer business to SABMiller ...more info



• The Boston Beer Company Inc., brewer of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, said on March 10: “Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Richard Lindsay will resign ...more info



• The investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston downgraded on March 10 its rating on SABMiller from "neutral" to "underperform" ...more info



• Tsingtao Brewery, China's largest brewer, said it expects to increase profits by more than 40% this year as a result of demand increases for its products in the country ...more info



• Beijing Yanjing Brewery, China's third-largest beer maker, said on March 7 it would roughly double its sales in overseas markets and boost its market share at home this year ...more info



• Molson Inc., Canada's oldest and biggest brewery, said on March 7 it is on target to reach operating growth of 14.5% for fiscal 2003 ...more info



• A Minsk Court has refused to consider a petition for bankruptcy brought against the Belarus brewery, Krinitsa, by the Russian beer group, Baltika Brewery ...more info



• The Russian Federal Property Fund announced that it is to hold an auction for selling 25.5% shares of Patra brewery (Ekaterinburg, Russia) ...more info




2. Industry news

Some Russian Brewing statistics

(in thousand tons / hl)

	2001	2002
Barley Crops	19,534	18,688
Barley Exports	1.170	2831
Barley Imports (Malting)	243	144
Malt Production		536
Malt Imports	492	555
Beer production	62,700	70,250



Beer sales in Lithuania fell 6.1% to 2.86 million dekalitres in the first two months of the current year, according to the Lithuanian Brewers Association, which consists of 11 biggest Lithuanian brewers. In February beer sales decreased 13% to 1.384 million dekalitres versus February 2002. The leading brewer of the country, Svyturys-Utenos alus, controlled by Scandinavian concern Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH), sold about 1.329 million dekalitres of beer for the two months of the current year, 15.4% less than for January and February 2002, when the company sold 1.571 million dekalitres. Kalnapilis and Vilniaus Tauras, companies controlled by the Danish company Brewery Group, take the second place. These companies posted consolidated sales of about 735 thousand dekalitres of beer for January-February 2003, 2.7% more than for the same period in 2002 (716 thousand dekalitres)...more info

Danish brewer Carlsberg had raised its stake in Bulgarian brewer Pirinsko Pivo by acquiring 34,912 shares, the Bulgarian press reported. The acquisition increased Carlsberg's stake in the Bulgarian brewer to over 97.5% from 94.5%. The shares were purchased through a buyback offer to Pirinsko Pivo's minority shareholders. The action means that Carlsberg is able to take the company off the Bulgarian stock exchange by delisting it. Carlsberg bought 67.15% in Pirinsko Pivo in October 2002 for US$10m. In December 2002 Carlsberg boosted its stake to 94.5% through a buyback offer.

China's biggest beer company, Tsingtao Brewery Co., is in talks with unidentified Southeast Asian brewer to make its trademark beverage outside China for the first time, according to the company's president, Chinese media reported. The deal is aimed at brewing Tsingtao brand beer to sell in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and other South-East Asian nations. Under the proposal deal, the Southeast Asian brewer will produce Tsingtao beer in exchange for a cut of the profit. Tsingtao is also negotiating with South African and European investors to expand in the South African beer market, the Tsingtao president, Jin Zhiguo, said Saturday in a Beijing interview. "We like to enter markets which have been under a monopoly," Jin said. "Their consumers will look for new tastes, giving us a great opportunity."...more info

Moscow-based beer and beverages combine Ochakovo is planning to build in Tyumen a plant for the production of beer, non-alcoholic beverages and kvass (a lightly fermented traditional beverage), the Tyumen region’s Governor Pavel Mitrofanov announced in a statement. (Interfax) The plant will be able to brew 100 million litres of beer per year, 20 million litres of non-alcoholic beverages and 15 million litres of kvass. The project price tag is estimated at $50 million and the construction will be done in the period 2004-2006. “The regional administration and Ochakovo are looking to ink a partnership deal in Moscow soon,” Mitrofanov said...more info