In a period characterized by slow consumer demand, San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB Inc.) still recorded a rise in net sales revenue to P12.4 billion for the first quarter of the year, the parent San Miguel Corporation reported on May, 11.

The brewer’s operating income grew 3% to P3.9 billion and its net income increased by 8% to P2.66 billion.

Sales grew at a slower 1-percent rate from P12.2 billion in the first quarter last year.

SMB Inc., the largest beer producer in the Philippines, said it expects to perform better in the coming months with higher volumes from the upcoming fiesta season and the festivities from the 2010 elections. The rise in beer profits came as the mother company, San Miguel Corp., reported a 76-percent drop in its net income.

Australian brewer Lion Nathan announced on May, 11 it has agreed the terms for an AU$3.3 bln takeover by Japanese brewer Kirin.

According to the Implementation Agreement signed by the two companies, Kirin will acquire all of the 287,786,220 shares in Lion Nathan it does not already own (53.87% of the issued and outstanding shares as at the date of the announcement). The acquisition price is AU$11.50 per share, thus the total acquisition price amounts to AU$3.3billion, it is reported.

Kirin Holdings said it will also agree to Lion Nathan paying to shareholders an interim dividend of 22 cents per share and a special dividend of 50 cents per share. The dividends are expected to be fully franked with Australian franking credits and the special dividend is expected to be partly imputed utilising available New Zealand imputation credits.

Including the franking benefits attached to the dividends, the offer consideration has an estimated value of up to AU$12.37 per share for certain classes of shareholders.

The transaction will be implemented via a scheme of arrangement and is subject to a limited number of customary conditions precedent, including obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals (including Australian FIRB and New Zealand OIO approvals), no material adverse effect, and ...More Info

Belgium's economy ministry said on May,11 it would not continue its investigation into whether Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, abused its dominant position in delaying payments to suppliers, Reuters reported on the same day.

"The informal investigation has been dropped", a spokesman for Economy Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said.

The maker of Budweiser, Stella and Beck's beers has shifted its terms of payment to 120 days from receipt of invoice from 30 days previously.

The minister had asked the competition authority in April to look into the matter.

AB InBev said at the time that it was not the only multinational to have reviewed its terms of payment in response to the challenging economic environment and that it was willing to help suppliers adjust to the new system.

A notable new trend in China’s beer consumption is increasing demand for beer with low sugar and low calorie content, Euromonitor states in its latest report on the nation’s beer market.

Consumers’ health and wellness concerns are increasing, which is affecting many consumer goods industries. Trade sources indicate that low-sugar and low-calorie beer products are performing very well in the market. For example, Tsingtao Huan Dong, with low sugar and calorie content, and containing active ingredients derived from the sea, has seen a good performance in the market since its launch in May 2007. China Resources also launched a new product, Snow Bei Shuang, in April 2008, which is claimed to be low in sugar and nutritious.

China’s beer sector maintained its rapid growth in 2008, although the increase was slightly slower than in the previous year, due to growing maturity. According to the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, China’s beer sector is the largest in the world in terms of production volume.

China’s growing economy and the rising incomes of the Chinese people are the main drivers of the development of China’s beer sector. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, average GDP growth in China was around 11% over the review period. ...More Info

Grupo Modelo, maker of the popular Corona beer, sees sales in Mexico declining less than the economy's expected contraction of 4.1 percent as it prepares to launch a new plant to serve U.S. and Canadian markets, Reuters reported on May, 11.

"Beer consumption has always been tied to gross domestic product growth," Chief Executive Carlos Fernandez said. "We think (sales) decline won't be as sharp as the GDP's."

Fernandez, responsible for taking Mexican beers to far-away markets like Australia and China, said the country is much better prepared now than years ago to face a financial crisis but acknowledged Mexico is not immune to the U.S. slowdown.

Mexico ships around 80 percent of its exports, from autos to electronics, to the United States.

Fernandez said Grupo Modelo is working hard to strengthen brand awareness and find new ways to reach to customers - including direct-to-home beer delivery - to keep sales from declining.

Modelo is investing some $600 million in a new plant in the northern state of Coahuila that is set to launch operations in March of next year.

The facility will produce an additional 10 million hectolitres by the end of 2010.

"The plant is focused on exports, mostly to supply the United States and ...More Info

Beer giant Heineken and Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries (UB) have settled their differences over the former’s role in the Indian company, more than a year after Heineken bought Scottish and Newcastle’s (S&N) stake and gained an entry into UB, the Economic Times reported on May, 12.

Under the terms of the deal, UB, India’s largest beer company with a 50% market share, will bottle and distribute Heineken brands in the country. It will be paid a one-time fee of Rs 300 crore.

The deal will also lead to consolidation of UB and the Heineken group’s existing beer operations in the country. The local operations of Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), Heineken’s Singapore affiliate, are likely to be brought under the UB fold.

This will see UB adding two premium international beers — Heineken and Tiger — to its portfolio.

The entry of Heineken and its brands to the UB fold will help Mr Mallya weather increasing competition from international beer makers. The operational aspects of APB in India will be merged with UB initially, and this will be followed by an entity-level merger at a later date.

Mr Mallya will also be merging Chennai-based Balaji Breweries with UB, giving the company complete control over a ...More Info

The approval by President Luís Inácio “Lula” da Silva of a new law in June 2008 establishing new rules for drink driving had a direct impact on on-trade beer sales in the second half of the last year, Euromonitor stated in a recent study of Brazil’s beer market.

According to Law 11705/08 (also known as “Lei Seca”), drivers who are caught under the influence of alcohol of more than 0.1 mg/litre, will be submitted to a fine of R$955, detention of the vehicle and withdrawal of their driving license for one year. For those who are caught with more than 0.6 mg/litre, the penalty also includes detention of the driver from six months to three years, with bail fixed between R$ 300 and R$1,200.

Beer volume sales were slower in 2008 compared to the review period. This slowdown is a result of the new law to combat drink driving approved in June 2008 which forced consumers to change their drinking habits to avoid severe penalties. To a lesser extent, the threat of inflation rates that largely influenced commodity products such as rice, beans, flour and bread affected the purchasing power of lower-income consumers who were forced in some way to cut expenses ...More Info

Premiumisation was the main trend seen in Chile’s beer industry in 2008, according to a research by Euromonitor analysts.

In premium lager, rapid growth occurred mainly in imported premium lager, as consumers became ever more willing to try new brands. However, another interesting phenomenon was the launch of upper-mass brands, it is reported.

Cervecería Chile SA’s Brahma line saw the launch of three new varieties in 2007 and 2008, with its Bock, Porter and Stout having a slightly more exclusive positioning than Brahma lager. This upper-mass positioning partly stemmed from these brands being initially launched as limited edition releases. They are slightly more expensive than standard lager but cheaper than premium products. These upper-mass products thus attract middle-income consumers who might not be willing to pay for a premium brand but who are increasingly interested in quality products.

Total volume growth for beer in 2008 was about half the level of the review period CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate). Leading beer producer Cía Cervecerías Unidas invested heavily in product development, new packaging and advertising during the review period as a whole in order to increase per capita beer consumption. However, towards the end of the review period it focused more on other business ...More Info

In the first quarter of 2009, Romania’s beer market registered the first drop, after several years of growth, of up to 5-6 percent, according to Shachar Shaine, President of United Romanian Breweries Bereprod (URBB), Standard.ro reported on May, 8.

Mr. Shaine attributed the decline to a lower expense budget of the population, and unfavorable temperatures.

“We can talk about a slight decline in the first three months of this year, but a hot month can turn everything around. We are highly dependent on the weather. It this will be a hot summer, then for sure the evolution of the beer market will be a positive one,” added Shaine.

“The market dropped in the first months of this year, because temperatures have not been high, and consumers are spending less due to the economic recession. Anyhow, the market’s evolution in Q1 is not characteristic for the whole year,” said Ioan Micula, one of the owners of the European Drinks group.

Last year, Romania became one of the top 10 countries in Europe, with a beer production exceeding 20 million hectolitres.

World barley trade is expected to decline on higher production in some major importing countries, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) posted in its World Grain Markets and Trade report this month.

According to USDA, world’s barley exports are to reach 17.18 mln tons in 2009/2010 (18.28 mln tons in 2008/2009).

Russian, Ukrainian, and EU barley exports are forecast lower than last year on robust crops and reduced import demand in North Africa and the Middle East. In particular, Iranian imports are expected to fall as a result of higher production and better pasture.

EU’s barley export is slashed 500,000 tons to 3.5 mln on the slow pace of export licenses and greater competition from Russia and Ukraine.

Russian barley exports are lifted 200,000 tons to 2.4 million, a record, based on a more competitive position vis-à-vis the EU.

Ukrainian barley export is boosted 200,000 tons to 5.5 million, a record, due to the strong pace of exports to destinations in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabian and Syrian barley imports are raised 300,000 and 200,000 tons to 7.3 million and 1.2 million, respectively (the latter being a record), on continued strong imports from Russia and Ukraine.

Turkish barley import is lowered 200,000 tons due to expectations of ...More Info

Estimates of the EU grain crop in 2009 have been reduced time and again during the past month, industry observers reported this month.

The EU Commission has reduced its estimate of the total 2009 grain crop to 288 vs. 313 mln tons a year ago. The barley crop, last year 65.7 mln tons, had been estimated by Stratégie Grains and by IGC at 62.9 mln, but now at 60.7 mln tons by the EU Commission.

Neither the time of planting, nor the input of fertilizer, nor the weather since planting has been ideal for all countries of the EU. In detail, barley fields in the EU look as follows:

It is the third year in a row that Mediterranean countries Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Greece had (more than) sufficient rainfalls, crop prospects are good. Spain has a smaller acreage of 3.1 mln ha, minus 10.5%, industry observers state.

The U.K. planted spring barley on 730,000 ha, 18% more than last year, and may produce 4 mln tons, 650,000 tons above last year’s production. The export surplus could be very substantial. Rainfall was good except for Eastern Anglia, where it is somewhat too dry, however, not alarming yet.

The first official French acreage estimate ...More Info

With little demand in the barley markets, prices for both feed and malting barley have remained steady, Larry Raap, grain merchandiser for Sun Prairie Grain in Minot, was quoted as saying by Farm & Ranch Guide on May, 8.

Even though a lack of demand usually leads to softer markets, the inability for farmers to market much barley has been a supporting element to the prices, and with field work to start soon, marketing barley will no doubt remain slow, as least for the next few weeks, the industry participant said.

Maltster-contracted acreage is down in most areas this spring, Raap noted, since the brewing industry decided to contract for fewer bushels than they have in the past. Part of this decision was based on the amount of carryover the maltsters are currently facing. Some reports place that amount in the 1.5 million bushel range, he said.

In addition, due to the tougher economic times, alcohol consumption is said to be falling off, which in turn will lower the demand for malting barley.

In some areas, the contracted malting barley production is down considerably due to the grower's failing to reach a decision on whether to sign a contract. For instance, in the Minot ...More Info

Early estimates indicate a sharp reduction in China’s barley acreage this year, analysts reported earlier this month.

According to sources, farmers are turning their back on malting barley as the financial return of their barley crops was much less than expected and less than on competing crops.

Should China harvest one million tons barley less than in 2008, and maltsters select less than two Million tons for malting, the import demand – on paper – will come close to two million tons in 2009/10, analysts estimate.

However, S/D calculations for China hardly ever turn out to be right, industry experts comment.

The total hop acreage in the Czech Republic stays this year at the 2008 level, the nation’s Hop Growers Union communicated on May, 11.

Further slight decrease is recorded only with the Saaz variety especially in the Saaz hop growing region. According to the information of the Central Institute for Testing and Supervising in Agriculture, the total acreage on 30th April 2009 was 5305 ha.

In comparison to the harvested acreage in 2008 this means a reduction of 30 ha. Saaz variety accounts for the majority of the acreage with 4627 ha (a decrease of 111 ha), variety Premiat accounts for 239 ha (an increase of 26 ha) and variety Sladek accounts for 275 ha (an increase of 36 ha). There was also an increase of the Agnus variety by 6 ha to a total of 58 ha.

Saaz hop growing region is the largest hop region of the Czech Republic with 3899 ha. There was a decrease in the total hop acreage of 54 ha in this region but Saaz variety decreased by 106 ha in this region. The Auscha hop region acreage is 669 in 2009, which is an increase by 6 ha compare to 2008, and Tirschitz hop region acreage ...More Info

Kathleen Hofman, Kim Bulling, Susan Marshall1 and Terry Chadderton

Abstract:
J. Inst. Brew. 114(3), 257–261, 2008 Concerns about the potential allergenicity of collagen proteins remaining after beverage fining have necessitated development of methods to detect collagen in beer at very low concentrations. We have developed a semi-quantitative SDS-PAGE/densitometer method suitable for use in brewer’s laboratories, for detection of residual native collagen at levels as low as 0.03 ppm (depending on the beer). The method is based on the fibril-forming properties of collagen molecules at elevated ionic strength. It will not detect denatured collagens so cannot be used on pasteurised beers. For a quantitative reference that compensates for significant differences in beer composition, and the different fining agents, a known amount of the acid-soluble fraction of the fining agent is added to the test beer to set limits of detection for the test. Densitometer results from the SDS-PAGE gels can vary with sample volume, depending on background interference but this can be reduced by careful selection of gel loading volumes. Fining out of the added collagen occurs in some beers, so less collagen is detected in the reference samples than expected. However, as long as densitometer readings for the sample are below those of the spiked reference, then collagen levels can be declared with confidence as being less than those of the reference. Key words: Beer, collagen, fining... Load full article, 5 pages, 6520 Kb, PDF file