World: Impact of corona crisis on beer and malt industry now mostly under control in Asia and Europe - analysts

The impact of the corona crisis on the beer and malt industry has been serious, but is now mostly under control in Asia and Europe, H. M. Gauger GmbH said in their latest report published earlier in July.

Speculative guesses are that the pandemic will reduce beer sales and malt demand by approximately 10% worldwide in 2020.

Lockdowns and enforced production stops have hit beer industries in Asian, African and Latin American countries.

Southeast Asia booked surprisingly large quantities of malt, mostly from Australia.

The Chinese boycott of Australian barley and good new crop prospects and depressed barley markets in Australia are low enough to make its malt attractive in Asian markets. In June two cargoes of Australian barley were shipped to Chinese free-trade zones. A duty-free export/import system may make Chinese maltsters competitive again. Their export volume was half a mln tonnes last year.