Australia: Grain Producers Australia welcome news about malting barley market diversification into Latin America

Grain Producers Australia (GPA) has welcomed news about malting barley market diversification and growth opportunities in Australian export trade into Latin America, Australian Rural & Regional News reported on May 19.

An article published on May 19 highlighted recent market diversification and growth activity, with benefits for Australian grain producers and broader industry, while boosting national economic prosperity.

GPA Chair, Barry Large, said these shared outcomes and benefits – from paddock to pint – reflected GPA’s long-standing policy and strategies on export market development and growth; especially the consolidation of ‘industry good’ functions.

“This is refreshing news and shows there’s tremendous appetite and future opportunities for Latin American consumers to taste better beers, brewed with high quality Australian barley,” Mr Large said.

The news article included comments from GPA Southern Grower Director and RD&E Spokesperson, Andrew Weidemann AM, saying this market diversification and expansion of malting barley trade into Latin America was a great success story for the Australian grains supply chain.

‘Firstly, credit has to go to the Australian breeders for developing varieties that fulfill the needs of customers,’ Mr Weidemann said. Here

‘Secondly, organisations such as AEGIC and Grains Australia, with their technical information and market development work, have done a fantastic job in highlighting to customers in Mexico the advantages of using Australian malt barley varieties.

‘Lastly, our growers are producing a quality, low-moisture product that is what the customers want.

‘It is a great story of the industry as a whole working together and a great advertisement for the use of Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) levies to help fund Grains Australia and AEGIC.

‘In general we’re probably more used to competing with Latin America, with countries like Argentina and Brazil big grain exporters, than sending grain there.

‘We’ve had our presence through the Middle East and Asia for so long but this is the first meaningful trade I can remember of any grain commodity into Latin America.’

Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry here show Australian barley exports to Latin America grew by +416 per cent in real terms, to reach A$256.1 million in 2022–23 (ABS 2023). This was attributed to record production and redirection of barley exports from China.

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