UK & Japan: Greencore Malt wins HGCA Award for Japanese export project

Greencore Malt, the largest maltster in the UK, based in Bury St Edmunds, has won an HGCA Enterprise Award of £20,000 for the development of a project to export malt to Japan, Business Weekly communicated on December 12.

Greencore Malt is set to increase grain usage by 4,500 tonnes over the next two years with this project.

Organised twice a year by the Home Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA), the awards offer support towards the development of innovative food and industrial products using UK grain. The HGCA Enterprise Award will help to support Greencore Malt to become more involved in the ‘Colla-borative Contract Farming System’ (CCFS), an initiative set up by Japanese brewer Sapporo to ensure product traceability in its beer.

This follows research among Japanese consumers that identified the need for traceability in the supply chain, following a number of food health scares in Japan. Greencore and Sapporo are working with UK grain cooperative Camgrain as part of this initiative.

Adrian Dyter, export manager for Greencore Malt said: "Thanks to the support from the HGCA, we can continue to develop our position going forward. "The funding from the Enterprise Awards will also help us to significantly increase exports to Japan, which is currently the world’s largest importer of malt. "We will achieve this by providing quality product and assured traceability to the Japanese brewing industry."

The HGCA Enterprise Awards will also help finance inward and outward missions to the UK and Japan over the next two years. A successful trip was recently undertaken by Sapporo, who visited members of the UK grower cooperative Camgrain, to discuss the progress of barley crops in the UK.

As the UK’s largest maltster, and the sixth largest globally, Greencore Malt has the capacity to produce 540,000 tonnes of malt each year and serves clients in 61 countries worldwide.

Julian Gibbons, chairman of HGCA’s market development committee said: "Through the Enterprise Awards scheme, HGCA assists UK companies in developing new markets in this country and abroad.

"With the help of this grant, I am sure that Greencore Malt will successfully exploit the growing need for UK barley supplies in Asia and will continue to develop this valuable market for maltsters and barley growers from Britain."

HGCA Enterprise Awards are designed to encourage new and innovative uses for home grown cereals, oilseeds and by-products. Further information is available on the website at: www.hgca.com/enterprise

There are two rounds of Enterprise Awards each year, launched in April and September. The current round closes on December 31. HGCA is focused on improving the production and marketing of UK cereals and oilseeds to increase their competitiveness at home and overseas.

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