E-Malt.com Flash 27a. July 04

Thailand & China: Tsingtao Brewery enters South-eastern Asian market

China's leading beer maker, Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd, will set up a Thailand marketing branch in Bangkok, called Tsingtao Thailand Marketing Co., Ltd,...more info

Russia: SUN Interbrew sells minority interest in JSC "Pivoindustriya Primoriya"

SUN Interbrew, the Russian unit of world’s brewing giant, InBev, announced on July 5 the signing of an agreement on the sale to Alfa-Eco of 36,600,568 ordinary shares...more info

UK: Greene King plc acquires T.D. Ridley & Sons Ltd. for £45.6 million

Greene King plc announced on July 4 the acquisition of T.D. Ridley & Sons Ltd. (Ridley's) for a total consideration of £45.6m including the assumption of £8.8m of debt...more info

Malaysia: Malaysian brewers join forces to set up confederation

Malaysia's two beer and stout breweries have joined forces to set up the Confederation of Malaysian Brewers Bhd, an industry group that will become the voice of breweries in the challenges faced by the industry, Bernama news agency posted on July 5.

Besides undertaking joint collaborative initiatives, the Confederation will also promote and look into the needs of the Malaysian brewery industry.

Tan Sri Ajit Singh has been appointed as its Executive Director while the Governing Council members would comprise representatives from the breweries, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd and Guinness Anchor Bhd, the founding members of the confederation.

Ajit joined the Malaysian Foreign Service in 1963, serving in various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at Malaysian Missions abroad including Canberra, Addis Ababa and New York, the confederation said in a statement.

Ajit had also been Malaysia's Ambassador in Vietnam, Austria, Brazil and Germany. Among the challenges the brewery industry expects to face are political, social and environmental related matters and these challenges are expected to escalate over time with recent developments such as security ink, higher excise duty, legislation and flat growth, it added. ...more info

South Korea: A decline in beer sales registered this year

Sales of beer for the five months, January-May 2005, fell 2.3% compared to the same period a year earlier to some 7.68 million hl, Asia Pulse posed on July 6. On Tuesday, the Bank of Korea cut its growth forecast for the South Korean economy this year from 4.0 per cent to 3.8 per cent, citing higher oil prices.

Liquor sales fell in the first five months of the year in South Korea, mainly due to a continued slowdown in the economy, industrial sources said Wednesday. In the five-month period, some 447 million liters of soju were sold in South Korea, down 4.2 per cent from the same period last year.

The decline in sales of soju, a popular South Korean distilled liquor, is significant because soju sales traditionally rise during periods of economic downturn. ...more info

Malt News

The Netherlands: Holland Malt’s new malting plant is in the final phase of construction

Holland Malt B.V. announced on July 5 that its new malting plant is in the final phase of construction and will be fully operational in August 2005...more info

World: Expert’s overview of malt prices all around the world

The large international brewers Inbev, Heineken and SAB covered much of their 2006 demand during this past month...more info

Barley News

EU: Barley Supply and Demand estimated by analysts

The EU intervention price is unchanged EUR 101,31 per tonne, but feed barley FOB Rouen is now quoted EUR 115,-, basis July...more info

Hops News

New Zealand: Hops production in 2004

In 2004 New Zealand produced about 792.1 metric tonnes of hops from an area of 422 ha...more info