France & Mexico: France's Vivescia plans its first malt factory in Mexico

French grain group Vivescia will build its first malt production unit in Mexico, backed by a long-term contract to supply the beer ingredient to global brewer Heineken.

Vivescia’s Malteurop division plans to open the factory in Meoqui in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua in the second half of 2021, with an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes of malt, Malteurop said in a statement late on September 3.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Mexico, a major beer market, will be Malteurop’s 14th country of production. As in other parts of the world, it plans to source barley, the raw material for making malt, locally.

The malt firm has been developing contacts with farmers about switching some land to barley, which is little grown in the region, the spokeswoman said.

Vivescia is one of a trio of French-based global malt producers alongside fellow farmer cooperative Axereal and family-owned Soufflet.

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 .