Australia: AUSBULK Limited is looking to build a malthouse in Victoria with a capacity to produce 80,000 tonnes or more of malt. Ballarat appears to be the frontrunner for the plant, although the company says other towns between Horsham and Melbourne are also possibilities, according to Nationwide News. AusBulk already owns three plants at Ballarat through its malting subsidiary, AusMalt.

AusMalt chief executive officer Bill Gill said the company had land in an industrial estate in Ballarat to build a new plant if it chose to do so. "But I couldn't say categorically that we will build there," Mr Gill said. "A malt factory has got the life of 50 years. "We need to ensure we have power, water and gas. "And we have to take into consideration environmental issues, such as building near residences." He said what was environmentally acceptable now might be unacceptable in 20 years.

AusMalt has embarked on plans to boost capacity at malting plants around Australia since entering the market two years ago with the takeover of Adelaide Malting. The company is capitalising on growth in the export malt market to Asia. It has recently increased capacity at its Cavan site in Adelaide to supply the export and domestic markets.

Victoria has been identified by AusMalt for expansion of its operations. The three existing malthouses have a combined production capacity of 73,000 tonnes. Mr Gill said AusMalt was looking to increase its malt production in Victoria to 150,000 tonnes within the next five to seven years. He said Victoria had consistently grown big malting barley crops and there were quality varieties coming out of the breeding programs.

There was also good access to ports for shipping containers. Mr Gill said malt sales to other countries had grown substantially in recent years, with annual exports now at 300,000 tonnes.

The company has forecast annual growth of 4-5 per cent, driven largely by South-East Asian markets. "Nearly all our malt is going into countries that can't produce their own because they are tropical or sub-tropical areas," he said. "They can't make malt because it is too hot and too humid." Customers include Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea and the Philippines.

26 May, 2004