Mexico & Australia: Heineken to start turning Aussie barley into Mexican beer

Global brewer Heineken will start turning Aussie barley into beer as part of an export deal to Mexico, the Yahoo News Australia reported on February 5.

The new market opens at a crucial time for Australia, which in December lodged an official complaint with the World Trade Organisation over China's hiked barley tariffs.

The nation's biggest grains exporter, CBH Group, signed a deal to ship 30,000 tonnes of malting barley to Heineken Mexico, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said on February 5.

"Latin America presents considerable and exciting opportunities for Australian grains, meat and produce," he said.

"Australian farmers and businesses are also set to benefit from better export opportunities with the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Australia and 14 other Indo-Pacific countries."

Heineken Mexico is part of the worldwide network of the Dutch brewing company and employs thousands of people.

"Mexico has a population of 127 million people, and a strong appetite for the kind of high-quality food and beverages that Australia produces," Mr Littleproud said.

Australia has been working to spread its export market since its most valuable trading partner China launched a series of strikes against products including grain, meat, timber, seafood, wine and coal.

Trade Minister Dan Tehan is scheduled to begin discussions next month for an agricultural-based trade deal with India.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .