1. Trading info

At this moment there are three OFFERS for 4500 tons of malt on the trading portal www.e-malt.com

• Offer for 500-2000 mtons of malt, 2RS, crop 2002, bulk, delivery 1/6/2003 - 30/9/2003, at EUR 288.00 /mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF0204P1215)
  
  
• Offer for 800-2000 mtons of malt, ASIA MALT 5/5 (2RS(50%) / 6RW(50%)), crop 2002, bulk, delivery 15/4/2003 - 31/8/2003, at EUR 283.00 /mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF0204P1206)
  
  
• Offer for 1-500 mtons of malt, 6RW Esterel, crop 2002, Bags in container, delivery 1/4/2003 - 30/6/2003, at USD 372.00 /mton, CIF Ho Chi Minh. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF0204P1151)
  
  

 Top Industry News 

• Beer output in some countries. Click here
  
  
• The Russian brewer Yarpivo has reported a 7% rise of sales for the first three months of the year... Click here
  
  
• Heineken N.V. announced on April 1 that it has acquired 68.8% of the shares of the Croatian brewer Karlovacka Pivovara d.d... Click here
  
  
• Baltika Brewery, the key Russian holding of Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle, said on March 31 it was opening a plant in Russia's far east... Click here
  
  
• The Russian-Ukrainian unit of Belgian Interbrew, Sun Interbrew, announced on March 28 that is to purchace eight breweries in Russia... Click here
  
  
• On March 28, CEO of the third largest Russian brewery ZAO Ochakovo has signed an agreement with the Governor of Tyumen Region about building a new brewery in Tyumen ... Click here
  
  

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

• Radeberger Gruppe AG, the third largest brewer in Germany after Holsten and Interbrew, is planning to expand, the company's CEO reported in a statement ...more info



• Initial public offering for Beer Thai Co. is likely to take place during 2003, said Merrill Lynch Phatra Securities, the financial adviser for Beer Thai according to Bangkok Post ...more info



• Axel Meermann, the chairman of the Munich brewery, Paulaner, has been sacked, German press reported ...more info



• Guangdong Investment Ltd., has signed a 75 billion yuan (US$1=CNY8.28) deal that will raise its Guangdong Brewery Holdings Ltd.'s stake in three related companies ...more info



• The German brewer owned by Brau und Brunnen, Rostocker Brauerei, celebrated on March 28th its 125th anyversary and changed its name to Hanseatische Brauerei Rostock ...more info



• Harboes Bryggeri, the Danish brewer and soft drinks company, has reported a 4% rise of pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the 2002-2003 fiscal year up to DKr44.9m ...more info



• Ontario's brewers applaud Finance Minister Ecker and The Honourable Tim Hudak, Minister of Consumer and Business Services, for implementing a fairer and more efficient tax collection system ...more info



• Dinkelacker-Schwaben Brau AG, the German brewery, announced that it has registered a rise of 9.1% of net profit for the 2001/2002 fiscal year up to EUR 6.4 million ...more info



• HVB Group, the German banking group, is holding negotiations with Interbrew and Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) regarding the sale of its 55% stake in German brewery, Brau und Brunnen ...more info




2. Industry news

Beer output in some countries. (in thousand hl)



	2001	2002
Netherlands	25,232	24,898
Canada	21,214	21,369
Russia	62,700	70,250
Poland	24,686	26,583
Czech Republic	16,199	16,454
Slovakia	5,031	5,333
Hungary	7,150	7,404
Romania	11,281	11,472



The Russian brewer Yarpivo has reported a 7% rise of sales for the first three months of the year. The company sold about 110 million litres of beer in January-March 2003 versus 103 million litres for the same period of 2002. Sales volumes for the first three months of the year were estimated at 1,184 million RUB (1 EUR = 34.3108 RUB) 22% up compared to the same period of 2002 (974,298 thousand RUB). In 2003 Yarpivo launched a new brand called Volga Yachmenoie (Volga Barley) in 1.5 l PET bottle.

Heineken N.V. announced on April 1 that it has acquired 68.8% of the shares of the Croatian brewer Karlovacka Pivovara d.d. for an amount of 1,804.59 kuna (EUR 234.61) per share from Southern Breweries Establishment, a joint venture of which CCU owns 50%. The acquisition is related to the transactions as announced on 14 January 2003. Karlovacka Pivovara is the second largest brewer in Croatia with a sales volume of 820,000 hl of beer in 2002 and has a 19% market share. The most important brand is Karlovacko Pivo, a lager beer with strong historic roots in Croatia. A dark beer and an alcohol-free beer are also part of the brand portfolio...more info

Baltika Brewery, the key Russian holding of Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle, said on March 31 it was opening a plant in Russia's far east to tap a vast Chinese market over the border, according to Reuters. "On the 11th, we are going to be opening a plant in Khabarovsk," Baltika president Taimuraz Bolloyev told reporters gathered at his glistening, modern flagship brewery in an otherwise drab industrial suburb of St Petersburg. Bolloyev said the factory in the far eastern provincial capital, just a few miles from the Chinese border, would become a staging post, providing a distribution link for a market nearly as large as all of Russia with its 144 million population. It will be Baltika's fifth -- adding to a network in St. Petersburg, in Tula south of Moscow and still further south in Samara and Rostov-on-Don...more info

The Russian-Ukrainian unit of Belgian Interbrew, Sun Interbrew, announced on March 28 that is to purchace eight breweries in Russia. Joe Strella, Sun Interbrew's manager for Russia, said: "There are eight breweries (we are interested in buying) and if they come up for sale we will look at them very closely." However no specific names were mentioned. The company also said it would not be building any new plants. Sun Interbrew is to issue a bond of between €50m and €100m this year. Alan Hibbert, chief financial officer, said the reason of the action is to refinance some of its €150m debt. The company hasn't decided whether to issue a Eurobond or a local ruble bond, added Hibbert. Sun Interbrew posted a net loss according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of €3.6m for 2002, against a net profit of €22.4m in 2001.

On March 28, CEO of the third largest Russian brewery ZAO Ochakovo has signed an agreement with the Governor of Tyumen Region about building a new brewery in Tyumen, Siberia. The plant is expected to brew about 100 million litres of beer per year with the possibilities up to 150 million litres. The design work is to begin in 2003, said Alexei Kochetov, CEO of Ochakovo. The plant building is planed to start in 2004 and end in 2006. Ochakovo will invest about US$ 40 million in brewery production. The new plant is expected to provide with beer not only Tyumen region, but also the whole Ural district, Siberia and perhaps the Far East. The future brewery will offer about 500 new work places, mentioned the Governor. Nowadays, about all well-known beer brands are present in Tyumen Region, but the major are Baltika with 17% of beer market, Ochakovo – 15.49% and Sibirskaia korona – 11%. With the entering of the new plant Ochakovo plans to increase its share in the regional beer market up to 50%.