Asahi Beverages will buy malting barley direct from Australian barley growers in a major change to its supply chain operations, it says. The company buys more than 70,000 tonnes of barley a year.
The new arrangements will see 90 per cent of Asahi’s barley purchased directly from farmers in line with its quality and sustainability requirements for beers including Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Great Northern, and Pure Blonde. Once in place the program will expand to the company’s smaller breweries including Cascade in Hobart.
Asahi Beverages’ group chief brewer Jaideep Chandrasekharan said sourcing the barley direct from farmers was an important change in its national operations. Previously grains weren’t segregated, but the new system will allow the company to track the provenance of the barley used as well as a direct relationship with more farmers.
“Farmers will grow barley in accordance with our strict quality program, we’ll monitor quality parameters such as protein levels and grain size, and we’ll link on-farm practices to beer quality. We will also track water use and other agricultural inputs to ensure our barley helps us achieve our sustainability targets.
“Until recently, the expertise to develop and maintain an intricate program like this at scale didn’t exist in Australia but we’re now working with supply chain managers Origin Trail and Pure Grain to bring it to life,” Chandrasekharan said.
More than 30 Victorian farmers in the barley-growing hubs of the Wimmera and the Mallee have been engaged, with their 30,000 tonnes of barley sent to the Abbotsford Brewery once it has been malted.
Seven farmers from southern New South Wales will supply 40,000 tonnes of barley to Asahi’s Yatala Brewery in Queensland once it has been malted.
Northern New South Wales growers are expected to join the scheme before this year’s harvest. The first beers using the directly purchased barley will be brewed at Abbotsford and Yatala in April.
John Bennett grows barley in Victoria’s West Wimmera and is one of the supplies. “This gives us a better understanding of their stringent quality parameters and ensures we provide the highest-quality barley for their brewing process,” he said.
More than one million tonnes of malting barley are grown in Australia each year and the country is recognised for producing a high quality crop. Barley is only second to wheat, with almost four million hectares dedicated to the grain.
Grain Producers Australia chair Andrew Weidemann said the program was good news after many challenges in recent years. He said: “The program will help ensure crops are grown sustainability and that farmers can grow new varieties that can open up more international markets for them, which is particularly timely. Aussie farmers have always been proud to grow the produce that goes into Australia’s iconic beers but this direct connection makes this even better.”
