InBev said it is to invest 60 mil euros over the next 12 months to step up production for its Belgian brewing operations located in Hoegaarden, Liege-Jupille and Leuven, AFX News Limited reported September 10.

The group said it is making the investment following the "international success" of brands Stella Artois and Hoegaarden, as well as the growth of Jupiler in Belgium and the Netherlands.

InBev's Belgian operations, employing over 3000 staff, has four centers of production in Leuven, Liege-Jupille, Hoegaarden and Brussels, eight distribution centers and a portfolio of brands -- Jupiler, Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Leffe and Belle-Vue.

One of Peru's leading beer companies, AmBev Peru, anticipates that the production of beer will increase by 15 percent in Peru, LIP reported September 6.

AmBev Peru, producer of Brahma beer, also predicted that 10 million 400 thousand hectoliters of beer would be consumed by customers this year, meaning that there will be an average consumption of 34 liters per person.

The increase in consumption has been attributed to the fact that there is now more competition on the beer market because of the increase in brands. Last week, Aje company introduced a new beer to Peru, Franca.

It has also been foreseen that due to competition, by the end of the year, beer prices will have decreased by 10 percent when compared to 2006.

The offers Cristal beer currently has are three 650 ml bottles for 9 soles and 50 cents, while Brahma is selling four 650 ml bottles for 9 soles and 50 cents. Franca has entered the market selling three 700 ml bottles for 8 soles.

"We sacrifice a margin of profit but we recover it when we sell larger quantities," stated Manuel Rangel, Marketing manager for AmBev Peru.

Beer producer Ursus Breweries, part of the international group SABMiller, plans to invest 50 million euro to expand and modernize its Timisoara brewery, SC Ring Press reported September 11. Following the investment, the brewery's production capacity will increase by 200%.

The brewery in Timisoara was acquired by SABMiller in 2001 and has a production capacity of 21,000 hl/week and over 200 employees. So far, Ursus Breweries has invested over 16 million USD in the Timisoara Brewery.

Ursus Breweries is the second largest brewery in Romania with a 24% market share. The company owns four breweries in Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Buzau and Brasov and employs over 1,300 people. Ursus Breweries produces the brands Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Ursus, Timisoreana, Ciucas, Stejar and Pilsner Urquell.

The difference between last and this year’s barley crops is: there are only few problems of pre-germination and diseases, but high protein and smaller yields and plumpness are cutting supplies, market analysts commented on September 3rd.

As farmers seem to withhold malting barley from markets, there is an apparent insufficient cover for the industry at the moment. Reports are that 50,000 tons of South American barley are afloat to the EU to relieve the supply situation.

The spring barley harvest is around 75% complete (90% in England and Wales), with yields around average, HGCA has recently reported. Winter barley yields are also lower, but still around the 6-year average, however quality is reportedly better-than-expected. The lower yields suggest reduced availability in 2007/08.

In the latest review of the 2006/07 balance sheets by Defra, barley ending stocks were 22,000t lower at 0.78Mt, 9% below last season. This followed an increase in both home disposals and exports.