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

• The Chinese brewer Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co announced on December 02 that it intends to purchase a 38.1% stake in Huiquan Brewage Group Inc. Fujian China for ¥376.7 million ...more info



• Scottish brewer and pubs company Belhaven Group Plc raised its annual profit forecasts by 4% on December 01 after a hot summer and a competitive close to Scotland's football season ...more info



• Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo was upgraded to "outperform" from "peer perform" by analysts at Bear Stearns as the economic conditions around the brewer improve ...more info



• The leading UK beer maker, Scottish & Newcastle Plc (S&N), announced on December 02 the appointment of Simon Ricketts (48) as Group Information Services Director ...more info



• The Slovenian Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the brewing giant Interbrew to overturn a lower court decision that threw out its lawsuit against the country’s leading brewer for illegal busines ...more info



• Carlsberg is holding an internal investigation into its Swedish unit’s role following the Systembolaget scandal ...more info



• Thai Beverages PCL is expected to raise around 30 billion baht ($1=THB39.924) at an initial public offering in the second quarter of next year ...more info



• South Australian brewer Coopers, based in Adelaide, is expecting sales of A$100 million (US$72.8 million) next financial year after booking a record trading profit of $9.6 million during 2002-03 ...more info



• In a research note published on December 01, the analysts mention that according to a German magazine, Focus, Carlsberg and Bitburger have jointly made a bid for Holsten ...more info



• Canada: Bob King, President of Big Rock Brewery and Jim Brickman, President of Brick Brewing Co. Limited of Waterloo, Ontario, two of Canada's leading specialty brewers ...more info

2. Brewery News

Danish brewing force, Carlsberg A/S, announced on December 01 that Labatt Breweries of Canada and Carlsberg Breweries A/S of Copenhagen have agreed to end their brewing, marketing and distribution agreement for the Carlsberg brand in Canada, effective January 15, 2004. Labatt and Carlsberg entered into their current agreement in 1988. "Our marketplace and respective priorities have changed a great deal since we established our agreement over two decades ago," says Labatt president Stewart Gilliland. "As a result, both parties determined the best decision was to seek new arrangements." Carlsberg Breweries Vice President, Søren Holm Jensen says: "We wish to thank Labatt for a long standing and mutually beneficial cooperation which has given the Carlsberg brand a solid position in the Canadian market." The responsibility for the Carlsberg brand and marketing activities will be taken over by a newly established Toronto-based company Carlsberg Canada Ltd. and The Premium Beer Company, Toronto, is appointed Carlsberg's new sales and distribution agent. Moosehead Breweries, New Brunswick, will assume license brewing of Carlsberg beer for Canada, excl. Quebec. McAuslan Brewing Inc., Montreal, will assume license brewing and distribution of Carlsberg beer for Quebec.

Brazilian beverage maker AmBev announced on December 02 it had bought a controlling stake in Ecuador's second-largest brewer, Cerveceria SurAmericana, for $36 million. Companhia de Bebidas das Americas, as AmBev is officially called, said in a letter to the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange it had purchased 80 % of SurAmericana's capital in the transaction, Reuters reported on December 02. "This deal is another step toward the expansion of AmBev in Latin America," said AmBev, the fifth-largest brewer in the world. "The company has been using acquisitions and greenfield projects in the region to consolidate its position in attractive markets." Based in Guayaquil, SurAmericana controls 6 % of Ecuador's beer market with its Biela brew and has a production capacity of 900,000 hectoliters a year, which AmBev estimates is enough to supply 30 % of the Ecuadorean market. AmBev said its $36 million price tag implied it was paying $50 per hectoliter, and that the money would include a capital injection to assume and restructure the company's debt. By far the strongest player in Brazil's beverage market, AmBev also has operations in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela and is expanding into Peru and Central America.

UK’s biggest brewer, Scottish & Newcastle Plc, announced on December 2, 2003 good performance from focused beer business. Its first half profit rose 7.5% as the hot summer boosted demand at off-licences for beer. Pre-tax profit rose to UK£316 million in the six months to September from £294 million in the same period a year earlier, the company said. Turnover rose 17% to £3.034 billion as beer sales by volume rose 4% to 25 million hl. Earnings and sales were helped by the first time contributions from cider maker HP Bulmer and Portugal's Central de Cervejas. Chairman, Sir Brian Stewart said: "These results demonstrate the successful international development of S&N. The sale of the UK Managed Retail business has created a focused, and well balanced group with the operational skills, strong market positions, excellent brands, and financial flexibility to develop as one of Europe’s leading brewers.” Chief Executive, Tony Froggatt said: "S&N has produced a strong performance in the last six months with organic volume growth of over 4%. The growth was led by Foster’s which increased volumes by 9%, Newcastle Brown up 12% and Kronenbourg, with a firm pricing policy in its two major markets France and the UK, which grew by 6%. Foster’s and Kronenbourg are brands with proven international pedigree and the plan to brew and sell them in Russia is an exciting development for the brands and BBH. “ He continued: “The priority for S&N is to build on its strong market positions and excellent brands to deliver increased returns to grow shareholder value...more info

US investment firm One Equity Partners (OEP) has decided not to buy a majority stake in German brewer Brau und Brunnen being put up for sale by banking giant HypoVereinsbank, informed sources told AFP on December 01. OEP had been in advanced negotiations to buy HVB's 62% stake in Brau und Brunnen, but the US private equity firm decided not to proceed with the acquisition after an in-depth look at the brewer's accounts, the sources said. In the middle of October, a spokesman for HVB had said that Germany's second-biggest bank was negotiating to sell its majority stake and that the talks were expected to be concluded by the end of the year. Brau und Brunnen owns not only a number of leading beer brands, but also mineral water brands and last year generated annual sales of €578 million (R4.43 billion) on a workforce of 2 400. It was scheduled to hold a news conference on Tuesday about its future. The weekly newsmagazine Focus reported in its latest edition on Monday that the German food group Oetker, which already owns the German Radeberger brewery, was interested in Brau und Brunnen's sites in Berlin and Dortmund. Another brewer, Bitburg, had also expressed an interest. The highly fragmented German beer sector, largely tied up in small, family-owned breweries, is currently undergoing a process of consolidation. Belgian giant Interbrew recently became the biggest brewery in Germany by buying the Spaten firm.

Russian Beer Market

in million litres	2000	2001	2002	2003 f
Beer Production	5,200	6,327	7,020	7,487
Beer Imports	61	94	103	150
Beer Exports	22	26	29	27
Total Market volume	5,239	6,444	7,094	7,610

3. Malt News

World malt production for 2003 is estimated at 18,500,000 tonnes of malt with a share of 40% for the EU. Within the EU Germany is the biggest producer of malt. Central and Eastern Europe are growth markets. An improving standard of living makes beer consumption bigger and hence also the demand for malt. Malting plants in these parts of Europe are also increasing production. No less than 30% of all the malt produced within the EU is exported with France at first place, followed by Germany and Belgium, according to Federation of Belgian Maltsters. today 5 Belgian maltsters produce about 625,000 tones of malt.

4. Barley News

The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) has released on December 01 its monthly Pool Return Outlook (PRO) for the 2003-04 crop year. Prices for most commodities have generally held or strengthened but gains have been partially offset by the strengthening Canadian dollar. Feed barley values are up $6 per tonne while designated barley values are down $1 per tonne. Feed barley: Limited supplies and a recent surge in Middle Eastern import demand has given a boost to current market prices and presented nearby export opportunities. Additional feed barley exports out of the EU and Black Sea are expected to be very limited, however the record US corn crop is expected to keep pressure on both domestic and global feed barley values. Import demand will be key to price movement well into the spring. Designated barley: Global malting barley values are stable due to soft nearby import demand. Strong feed barley prices around the world will continue to provide a floor for the malting barley market.

Australia is heading for its second-largest winter grain harvest on record, according to the nation's chief commodities forecaster. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) said winter crop production would be nearly 37.6 million tonnes in 2003-04 - 20.6 million tonnes more than the yield of last year's drought-ravaged crop. ABARE's December crop report from December 02 said the crop would be second only to the record 39.3 million tonnes in 2001-02. Barley production is forecast to rise by 109 % to 7.7 million tones. Victoria's winter crop is expected to be 5.8 million tonnes, the state's second biggest on record. The total winter crop is slightly above ABARE's estimate in September. Estimates for the various states, however, have changed considerably. ABARE executive director Brian Fisher said the turnaround was dramatic in Western Australia, where the crop would be a record 14.4 million tonnes. However, Dr Fisher said crops were damaged in NSW and Queensland, and to a lesser extent in Victoria and South Australia, by hot winds in September, and some frost and disease in October and early November. Victoria experienced mild winter conditions and favourable rains, mainly in June, August and October. The state's barley production is forecast to more than triple - to 1.4 million tonnes.