World: Malting industry much stronger than in former times of oversupply

The malting industry is much stronger and less fragmented than in former times of oversupply crises, H. M. Gauger GmbH said in their May report.

The EU maltsters had a full 2020 delivery program in their books; by April 27 exports to third countries were still running at 2.29 mln tonnes (barley equivalent, U.K. not included), 1% more than in 2019. But silos are starting to fill up, and some factories began to cut down on their production.

The strategy is to produce only as much malt as needed by brewers and to avoid any unnecessary malt stocks. It would be great if the barley - malt - beer chains could find amicable cost-saving solutions for their oversupply problems. They must not forget that a slow return to normal times is predicted for late summer; and China shows that such return is really possible.