Mexico: Barley imports at historical high of 320 thousand tonnes in 2019/20

Mexico’s trade year 2019/20 (Oct – Sep) barley imports are projected at a historical high of 320,000 tonnes, USDA said in its August report.

European Union exports of barley to Mexico have been particularly strong, and higher unit values indicate that it is likely malting quality. In the past, the United States has captured about half or more of Mexico’s total import volume, but market intelligence suggests that major Mexican brewers are turning to the European Union for more favorable buying terms. U.S. producers prefer contract farming for malting barley, whereas EU barley can be purchased at auction or via spot contracts.

Research by J.P. Morgan and the Kirin Company shows that North American beer consumption grew by 0.1 percent between 2011 and 2016. However, looking at the individual countries paints a different picture. While beer consumption in the United States was essentially flat and Canada declined, Mexico had a compound annual growth rate of 3.4 percent over the period.

The expansion of beer consumption in Mexico – and consequently production – is supported by its imports of malt as well. Malt imports have been steadily growing over the last 2 decades. Imports of malt generally exceed those of barley; however, in September 2019, one of the world’s major malting companies, Malteurop, indicated it would open a new malt house adjacent to a large Heineken brewing operation in the state of Chihuahua in 2021. If barley production in Mexico stays relatively flat as it has for the past several years, expansion of domestic malting capacity could mean greater barley imports in the future, the USDA analysts believe.