More news is available on site www.e-malt.com  

• USA: Three employees of the Coors Brewery in Golden were rushed to the hospital early on February 23 after a steam line ruptured ...more info



• The investment bank, UBS, has raised its rating on shares in the Chilean brewing group, Compania Cervecerias Unidas SA (CCU), from neutral to buy ...more info



• Baltika is making plans to move into central Asia and China. The Russian brewer announced late last week that it intends to build a brewery in Kyrgyzstan ...more info



• Japanese brewer, Kirin Brewery Co., is to invest around 20 billion Yen (US$184.5m) over the next two years on upgrading its Fukuoka production site ...more info



• Belgian brewer, Alken Maes plans to start brewing Carlsberg in Belgium in April this year, according to national media reports ...more info



• Scottish & Newcastle’s share price target has been raised by investment bank UBS. The bank yesterday upped its rating on the brewer to 395 pence from 380p ...more info



• Deutsche Bank have upgraded its ratings for Carlsberg Breweries to “hold” from “sell,” and raised its price target to 280 Danish crowns from 220 crowns ...more info



• Britain's biggest brewer, Scottish & Newcastle Plc, posted flat 2003 profits on February 23 and took a cautious line on the year ahead ...more info

Brewery News

USA: In a joint announcement from February 23 2004, Carlsberg Breweries A/S and Labatt USA LLC have agreed to end their import, distribution and marketing agreement in the United States, effective May 1, 2004. Carlsberg Breweries A/S will create its own import company, Carlsberg USA Inc. “Carlsberg and Labatt USA have enjoyed a positive, mutually beneficial relationship since we first joined forces,” said Simon Thorpe, president of Labatt USA. “Dramatic changes have taken place in the imported beer market during that time, and as a result, both companies agree that the time is right to part ways. For Labatt USA, the change allows us to focus efforts on our diverse portfolio of imported and specialty beers, particularly on-premise, where Labatt USA supplies 50 percent of the imported draught beer,” said Thorpe. “Carlsberg Breweries has had a good relationship with Labatt USA and we appreciate the efforts they have made over the years for the Carlsberg brand,” says Soren Holm Jensen, Carlsberg Breweries vice president. “But the time has now come to form our own import company, Carlsberg USA Inc., which will give us full control of our sales and marketing initiatives. Also, it makes sense to group several complementary Carlsberg brands under one roof, much as Labatt USA has successfully done in America.” Carlsberg USA plans to distribute the Carlsberg brand and Carlsberg Elephant, Tuborg Gold and its two UK brands Tetley’s and Double Diamond. The new import company will be dedicated to strengthening its brands in the United States through continued successful marketing and sales of its brands, and the long term commitment of Carlsberg Breweries A/S...more info

Dutch brewing force, Heineken Holding N.V., posted on February 25 its consolidated annual results for 2003. Company’s net turnover rose by EUR 773 million in 2003 to EUR 9,255 million, an increase of 9%. Organic turnover was up 5%, with a 3% increase accounted for by organic volume growth and the remainder reflecting the improved sales mix and higher selling prices. Newly consolidated acquisitions accounted for 8% turnover growth. The principal first-time consolidations are BBAG in Central Europe with effect from 1 October 2003, Al Ahram in Egypt with effect from 1 October 2002, CCU in Chile and Karlovacka in Croatia both with effect from 1 April 2003 and Karlsberg in Germany with effect from 1 January 2003 as well as a number of beverage wholesalers in Europe. The stronger euro reduced turnover by 4%, with the US dollar, the Nigerian naira, the Polish zloty, the Russian rouble and the Singapore dollar all lower against the European currency. The world beer market grew by more than 1.7% in 2003, to around 1,464 million hl. Beer consumption in Western Europe was down 0.1%, while the Central and Eastern European markets added 4.3%. The North American beer market contracted a little, but the markets in South America grew by 0.2%. Beer consumption was higher in Africa and Asia, by 3.6% and 3.8% respectively, with growth of 5.3% in China accounting for most of the improvement in Asia. Group volume rose by 14.2 million hl to 99.0 million hl in 2003, growing at 17% which was significantly faster than the world beer market. Organic sales growth accounted for 3 percentage points and new acquisitions such as BBAG for 14 percentage points. Rapid organic growth in sales volume was reported in Nigeria, Spain, Russia, Poland, the Far East and Italy, but this was offset by lower sales in France, Greece and the Netherlands, largely as a result of difficult market conditions...more info

Japan: Asahi Breweries Ltd), Japan's top brewer, said on February 24 it aims to more than double net profit to 50 billion yen ($461.9 million) in the next three years by boosting its beverage, drug and food business. Asahi, known for its flagship "Super Dry" beer, expects beverage sales to grow to 300 billion yen in 2006, accounting for 18.1 percent of its estimated total sales of 1.66 trillion yen, up from 13.5 percent in 2003, according to Reuters. "By strengthening development capabilities and forming alliances with other firms, we will expand the scope of our beverage business," Asahi said in a three-year business plan. Drug and food sales in 2006 are estimated at 50 billion yen, accounting for three percent of total sales, compared with 1.6 percent now. Asahi plans to lessen its reliance on the mainstay beer business, anticipating a fall in its sales ratio to 72.3 percent in 2006 from the current 79 percent. Asahi last week scored a 57.3 percent gain in net profit to 23.21 billion yen for the year to December 2003 on strong sales of "chuhai," an alcohol-laced fruit-flavoured drink, and "happoshu" low-malt beer substitute. Its beverage business also returned to profit during the year.

Russian brewer, Vena, has registered a 25% increase of its overall sales in 2003 versus 2002, the company posted on February 18. In 2003, the Russian brewer sold 163 million litres of all its products. Beer sales of Vena increased by 20.5%, which is above the average 6.5% increase in Russian beer sector in 2003. At present, Vena's market share in money terms comes to 4.8%, according to the Business Analitika marketing research agency. In 2003 Vena earned a profit of 160 million roubles (US$5.6 million) to Western accounting standards, compared to 2002, when the company posted a net loss. The company's performance is largely due to the new positioning of the Nevskoye brand, which saw its sales rise by 20%. As of today, Nevskoye is the second popular brand in Russia in the segment of premium beer with a 17% market share. In St. Petersburg, Nevskoye remains the leading premium brand with a 42.8% market share in money terms. A high rise in sales was also posted by the company’s second main brand, Tuborg, whose sales rose 25.6% in 2003. Its share of the licensed beer segment in money terms stands at 7.7%, according to Business Analitika. In 2004, the company plans to boost investment in marketing and sales and to expand production capacities. In addition, a regional expansion will be continued, mainly into Moscow and Russia's central region. Vena’s main shareholders are Denmark's Carlsberg Breweries A/S (49.9%) and Sweden's Baltic Beverages Holding (49.9%).

Bangladesh: The recent launch of two beers in Bangladesh serves to demonstrate the power of international branding. Crown Beverages' new beers have faithfully copied both Foster's and Carlsberg's branding in order to make a splash with consumers, according to Datamonitor comments published on February 23. The tactic is a shrewd one since it plays on consumers' perceptions of glamour and prestige. Two opportunistic new beers launched in Bangladesh highlight the value of international branding, and the importance of protecting it even where no market exists. Crown Beverages has released two new beers (Crown and Hunter) onto the Bangladeshi market by taking advantage of a loophole in the country's anti-alcohol legislation. The 1990 Drug Control Act outlaws beer in the country, but in order to permit the use of medical alcohol, beer is defined as a brewed malt and hops based drink containing - crucially - between 5% and 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). Crown Beverages has simply produced a beer with less than 5% ABV, technically making it a malt beverage. Despite the reaction of the country's Islamic parties, the beers are selling out as rapidly as they can be supplied. Part of the reason for this is that, despite being newly launched, the beers benefit from high brand recognition. Their packaging mimics, in all but name, the branding of the internationally famous Foster's and Carlsberg beers...more info

Malt News

Ukraine: French malt producer Malteurop Group is to launch a malting plant on May 15 this year in Kharkov, Ukraine, near Rogan Brewery, Daniel Huvet, Malteurop’s CEO has recently told Ukrainian press. Malteurop invested about US$ 14.8 million in plant building. At the beginning the plant was intended for the production of 46 thousand tonnes of malt per year. However during the work the company has decided to increase the plant capacity to 100 thousand tonnes of malt per year. The maximal volume is planned to be reached at the beginning of 2005. First of all the new plant will supply malt to Ukrainian breweries. In the future it will export its malt to Russia and Caucasus. Malteurop’s malting plant will be the largest in Ukraine and will process about 120-140 thousand tonnes of barley per year. The company intends to purchase the barley from the local farmers. The plant is being built on the territory of Rogan Brewery. It is known that Malteurop is investing 3 million Ukrainian hrivnas in Kharkov agriculture.

Barley News

United Kingdom barley exports for the first half of the 2003/04 season (July-December) were reported at 0.63 million tonnes, some 140 tonnes higher when compared with exports during the same period in 2002/03, HGCA posted on February 23 (see the table below). Of the total, only 740 tonnes were sent to destinations outside the EU. Within the EU, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Belgium imported more barley, when compared to the previous season, while Spain and Portugal bought less barley. Spain however, remained the main destination for UK barley. Barley imports into the UK for the first half of this season were 300 tonnes, compared to 380 tonnes last year. All of the 300 tonnes of barley was purchased from other EU countries. Some 150 tonnes were imported from the Republic of Ireland, most of which will be feed barley for Northern Ireland. Some 90 tonnes of barley was purchased from France. 

UK Barley Exports, July-December

in '000 tonnes	2002/2003	2003/2004
Belgium	21	38
Ireland	31	57
France	11	11
Germany	87	78
Greece	0	61
Italy	34	73
Netherlands	41	22
Portugal	82	61
Spain	251	156
Other	62	78
Total	620	634

Canada: Chinese demand for Canadian wheat and malting barley will continue to grow, Canadian Wheat Board chief executive officer Adrian Measner told farmers at a wheat board accountability meeting in Oak Bluff. "On the Canadian side (of Chinese imports) they've been focusing on the high quality," Measner said in an interview. Farmers at the meeting were surprised to hear that China was not just a buyer of bulk wheat. Measner said the country has been rapidly developing and now wants top quality malting barley for its beer exports, The Western Producer revealed on February 20. The Tsingtao brewery claims that half of its malting barley is Canadian, showing that Canadian grain has developed a fashionable international reputation. China has occasionally been a big buyer of Canadian grain, but it has also often left the market. Early this decade, China's imports of Canadian wheat were below levels commonly set in the 1990s. Measner said China will become a more dependable buyer as its population increases, its people begin to demand higher value products and its farmland is slowly swallowed up by urban development. Unlike Brazil, which has large amounts of uncropped land that can be opened to production, China's arable acreage has been fully used for many years, and a more likely Chinese trend will be the removal of marginal land from production. "There isn't that extra land to open up there," Measner said. As China's 1.3 billion population increases to an expected 1.5 billion by 2017, the country will lose farmland and become thirstier for beer. If every Chinese adult drank one more bottle of beer per year, Chinese malting barley demand would increase by 370,000 tonnes, Measner said. The country now imports about two million tonnes of malting barley a year, of which Canada has supplied as much as 730,000 tonnes. Measner said the wheat board wants to capture the high end of the Chinese market by not only supplying the best grain but also by having customers who want to brag about it being Canadian. Branding is going to be more important in the future, Measner said, and the board hopes "Canada" will become synonymous with "quality." "It's the wave of the future," he said.

Theoretical malt prices.

* - 70/30 = 70% Average two Rows Spring and 30% Six Rows Winter
** - 50/50 = 50% Average two Rows Spring and 50% Six Rows Winter

Theoretical malt prices for crop 2004 are available on site www.e-malt.com/MarketPrices

Malt Price Evolution

	Maximum average price for 2RS Malt, crop 2003: 308.50 EUR/tonne - in November 2002
	Minimum average price for 2RS Malt, crop 2003: 260.00 EUR/tonne - in June 2003
	Maximum average price for 6RW Malt, crop 2003: 280.50 EUR/tonne - in November 2002
	Minimum average price for 6RW Malt, crop 2003: 248.00 EUR/tonne - in July 2003

Source: E-malt.com

Malting barley prices. French barley prices. Nominal prices.

EURO = USD 1.2688 February 25, 2004
Crop year		2003		2004
Parity		FOB Creil		FOB Creil
Position		July 2003		July 2004
Type	Variety	EURO	USD	EURO	USD
2RS	Scarlett	132,00	167,50	130,00	165,00
2RS	Prestige/Cellar	131,00	166,50	129,00	164,00
2RS	Aspen	130,00	165,00	128,00	162,50
2RS	Optic	130,00	165,00	128,00	162,50
2RS	Astoria	129,00	164,00	127,00	161,50
2RS	Cork	129,00	164,00	127,00	161,50
6RW	Esterel	nq	nq	118,00	150,00

nq - Not quoted

Prices for Danish and UK malting barley are available on site www.e-malt.com/MarketPrices

Graph of the week

Agenda

February 2004: Pianeta Birra - Beverage & Co. International Show of Beers, Beverages; Orges brassicoles 2004: Des perspectives nouvelles de marchés; HOFEX 2004 Food & Drink; Canadian Food & Beverage Show; BIEREXPO; GrainWorld 2004;
March 2004: New York City Real Beer Festival; Real Ale Festival; The Night of Large Thirst; Zythos Beer Festival; International course - Malting and Brewing Science; FOODEX Japan 2004; ANTAD 2004; 2004 BIENNIAL CONVENTION; Beer Auction 2004, the international exhibition of beer, technology and equipment; China Drinktec 2004. China International Exhibition on Beverage and Brewing Processing Technology
April 2004: World Beer Cup; 2004 National Craft Brewers Conference and trade show BrewExpo America;

More events are available on site e-malt.com

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