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• Russia: Tinkoff has completed construction of a brewery restaurant in Ufa. The project value is $2 mln. The restaurant will be opened on Dec. 19, 2003 ...more info



• Japanese beer maker, Kirin Brewery Co., intends to launch a new happoshu brand, Japanese News Digest has recently posted ...more info



• Japanese beverage company, Sapporo Beer’s Beverage Co., plans to restructure its operations with the purpose to reduce costs, local press reported ...more info



• ABN AMRO has cut its 2004 earnings per share (EPS) forecasts across the European beverages industry. The cuts, announced on December 15, have been introduced due to the weakness of the US dollar ...more info



• China: Scottish & Newcastle has not yet sealed a deal to buy into a Chinese brewery, contrary to a statement from the Chinese brewery itself ...more info



• San Miguel Corp. expects sales this year to rise 20%. Dow Jones reported on December 14 that the food and beverage conglomerate expects its 2003 net profit to outstrip this year by 10% ...more info



• Latvian beer sales are to increase by 7% in 2003 versus 2002. Between January and November 2003 Latvian brewers sold about 135.03 million litres of beer versus 125.88 million litres ...more info



• The Danish brewing force, Carlsberg A/S announced on December 12 that Peter Spøer, 46, has been appointed Managing Director of Danbrew as of March 1, 2004 ...more info



• Belgian brewing force, Interbrew, the world's fourth largest brewer, announced on December 15 that during the first 11 months of 2003, Interbrew, The World’s Local Brewerã, has realised organic volume ...more info

2. Brewery News

India: Beer has a huge potential for growth in India, according to SABMiller plc corporate affairs director Sue Clark. Clark, who was in the country recently, said 15 years ago China was in a similar situation that India is in now, The Telegraph Calcutta, India reported. India has a low per capita annual consumption of beer at 0.6 litre, while the per capita consumption in China has grown to 18 litres. SABMiller's foray into China has started yielding impressive results, Clark told The Telegraph. The per capita consumption in most developed economies is over 100 litres. The existing regulatory framework in India hinders the growth of the beer segment, said Clark. SABMiller introduced Castle Lager in India, but Clark said the focus would be on the growing Indian brands. “Whenever we enter a market, we try to build local brands,” she said. SABMiller has a joint venture with Shaw Wallace, which led to the formation of a beer entity with an infrastructure of 22 breweries in its ambit that includes 11 contracted units. The SABMiller-Shaw Wallace joint venture has been the market leader in the strong beer segment with a little less than 50 % of the market share. The portfolio is driven by Haywards 5000 accounting for 28 % of the strong beer segment. However, in the mild beer segment, it is behind the United Breweries group. The ratio of mild to strong beer in the country has shifted from 66:34 in the year 1993-94 to 37:63 in 2002-03. According to Clark, the beer habits in the country are not developed. Beer makers have to face the challenges of a regulated environment and the restrictive licensing policies. SABMiller has always worked with state governments, preferably through industry associations, in de-regulating the industry.

The Danish brewing force, Carlsberg Breweries A/S, again increases its shareholding in the Polish Carlsberg Okocim S.A. through the acquisition of a further 6% of it's share capital, Carlsberg announced on December 15. The shares were acquired at a price of DKK 60 million from the German brewery Bitburger who have thus sold their remaining shares in Carlsberg Okocim. Carlsberg Breweries now owns 85% of the shares in Carlsberg Okocim. The acquisition is part of Carlsberg Breweries' strategy to increase its shareholding in important breweries. The Polish state and the Danish IØ-foundation own close to 11% of Carlsberg Okocim and the rest of the shares (approx. 4 per cent) are held by private investors. Poland is the 10th largest beer market in the world. In 2002, the total consumption was 27 million hl beer which is equivalent to a yearly per capita consumption of 69 litres. Over the past five years, the annual consumption has increased by approx. 7 %. Carlsberg Okocim has a market share of 14 % and Carlsberg is the fastest growing premium brand in Poland.

South Korea: Korean National Assembly has passed a law calling for downward adjustments on the beer tax, Government sources were cited in Korean newspapers on December 11. Currently at 100%, the tax would drop to 90% in 2005, then to 80% in 2006 and down to 72% in 2007. The factory price for a 500ml bottle of beer would consequently drop from the current 1,015.60 won (US$0.867) to 958.19 won in 2005, 900.80 won in 2006 and 854.86 won in 2007. However, actual consumer prices are expected to differ in accordance with the type of vendor due to varied distribution margins. Lawmakers said that the measure to cut the tax on beer is aimed at narrowing the gap of alcohol tax rates between beer and distilled liquors like whiskey. Local beer lovers have been complaining about the higher tax on beer, which stems from trade pressure, according to Korea Times. Korean beer maker, Hite Brewery Co. jumped on the back of optimism prompted by the recent government announcement that it will lower beer taxes, The Korea Herald posted on December 16. The gain in share price came despite reserved opinions expressed by foreign securities companies that the effect of the tax reduction will be marginal. The share jumped nearly 8 % in early trading yesterday before stabilizing about 6 % higher and the price standing at 83,200 won per share as of 2:48 p.m.

Russia: Russian brewery, Ochakovo, announced that Heineken would not acquire Ochakovo. Ochakovo’s commercial director and major shareholder, Vyacheslav Merkulov, has denied the rumors according to which Heineken has offered between US$500 million and $600 million for the company. Merkulov, told the Vedomosti business daily last week, said: “Heineken is not buying Ochakovo and there were no such negotiations. There are few companies left in Russia, which have purely Russian roots. I think Russia should have a major brewer that should develop Russian traditions in the business. As far as I see, our shareholders and the board of directors share this idea.” In the meantime, the Russian beer and soft drink manufacturer is to carry out an additional issue of 39,400 preferred shares in order to prevent potential problems if any of the company’s shares are bought by rivals. Ochakovo intends to begin production of a foreign licensed beer brand in mid-2004. There is no agreement on this yet and the company is still in talks with several companies from Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic and the US, he told the paper. The reports from a press conference held by Ochakovo also said the company expects volumes to increase at least 5% in 2004. In 2003 volumes are estimated to reach 718.4 million litres, a 3.61% increase on 2002.

3. Malt News

Australian grain logistics and malting concern AusBulk Ltd. reported on December 16 an 80% slump in net profit last fiscal year to A$11.1 million, a result it described as "sound" in a difficult environment. The result was built on a 5.1% decline in revenue to A$517.9 million last fiscal year from A$545.7 million in the previous fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2002, it said. Chairman Kevin O'Driscoll said the company's core grain storage and handling business received just 3.0 million metric tons of grain last fiscal year, down from a record 8.6 million tons previously. Drought slashed national grain production last fiscal year. O'Driscoll said the impact of the drought would also impact negatively on this fiscal year's result. "However, the company expected profit to rebound strongly as a result of an above average season in 2003," he said in a statement. AusBulk expects to receive just under 7.0 million tons of grain into its system this fiscal year, well above the five-year annual average of 5.7 million tons, he said. AusBulk is headquartered in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia state, in which it chiefly operates its logistics business. AusBulk also markets grain and operates a large malting business, known as AusMalt, which incorporates the businesses of Joe White Maltings and Adelaide Malting Co. Revenues from malting activities helped offset decreased revenues from grain logistics and marketing, John Murray, AusBulk's managing director said...more info

4. Barley News

European Barley Crops (in thousand tonnes)