UK: Brewers start to see the necessity of long-term contracts with barley growers

With some British brewers concerned about how to best secure supplies of malt as world production of all barleys is falling, long-term contracts with growers have been mooted, Farmers’ Guardian reported on July, 27.

The possibility of linking end users with primary producers came during a ‘meet the grower’ day in East Anglia hosted by Openfield in conjunction with a local maltster.

“The message was understood and they recognised malting barley is struggling to retain its competitiveness, given the rising world price for oilseed rape and wheat,” said Adrian Fisher, Openfield malting barley marketing manager.

“They recognised that, to secure supplies for the long-term, there is a need to develop a long-term contract with suppliers similar to that used with baker Warburtons for milling wheat.”

01 August, 2012