For six years, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) has participated in the Cerveza Mexico Conference. Because Mexico was the top buyer of U.S. barley and barley products in the 2021/2022 marketing year – purchasing 323,530 metric tons valued at $219,116,797 – the event provides a unique opportunity each year to maintain and cultivate relationships between growers, craft maltsters and brewers.

In 2022, to create and build upon those relationships, the Council’s Mexico office invited barley growers, craft maltsters and organization leaders from Idaho, Washington and North Dakota to take part.

Cerveza Mexico is an interactive space to taste and talk about opportunities within the craft beer industry and it allows professionals to meet with potential U.S. malted barley suppliers. The event brings together people from across the beer production chain: barley producers, importers of craft malt, brewers of homemade and specialty beers, craft maltsters, suppliers of equipment, machinery, supplies and packaging for the production of beer. This program helps advance the Council closer to its goal of connecting U.S. craft maltsters with ACERMEX (Mexican Craft Brewers Association) and build relationships for future business.

“Last year, the Mexico craft market achieved one percent market share and is expected to achieve 11% industry growth this coming year. U.S. barley and craft malt expo attendees were able to witness this industry’s sophisticated growth which has created an opportunity for value-added U.S. barley and malt products to be of consideration,” said Sadie Marks, USGC manager of global programs. “Attendees took advantage of the expo by building relationships with the brewers and ingredient suppliers, in discussing the state of the industry and in finding solutions to overcome existing trade barriers. We saw that the Mexico beer industry is here to stay, and the U.S. barley sector looks forward to being a part of the process; it’s a win-win.”

Council-sponsored attendees had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with those who know the beer industry best in Mexico. The group met with ACERMEX, learned more about the state of the craft beer industry with the Foreign Agricultural Service and met with Cerveceros de Mexico (Mexico’s National Chamber of the Beer and Malt Industry).

“Each year the event brings better awareness and more interest on sourcing malt directly from U.S. maltsters. As the craft industry in Mexico grows, so does its volume capacity to make direct purchases from the U.S.,” said Javier Chávez, USGC marketing specialist in Mexico. “This is a great event because it’s important that our barley farmers see first hand that there is a booming craft industry in Mexico and it’s growing.”

To learn more about the Chinese craft beer industry and how the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) can best create a long-term strategy for barley programs in the country, the organization’s China office had a booth at the 2022 Craft Beer China Conference and Exhibition (CBCE).

“China has the world’s largest beer industry. While dominated by large producers making typical lager-style beers, there is a small but growing craft beer industry. This latter portion of the industry seeks to source a variety of malted barley products from the global market,” said Manuel Sanchez, USGC director in China.

“Our efforts in 2023 will focus on providing proper market information and developing a better understanding of U.S. malt variety and quality among a cross-section of craft brewers and ingredient suppliers in China and provide U.S. barley malt producers opportunities to meet potential customers in China’s craft beer industry.”

With nearly 6,000 attendees, CBCE brought together China’s leading microbreweries, brew pubs and ingredient suppliers, offering the best platform for accessing China’s craft beer industry representatives and trend information.

“Craft beer experts shared the latest ingredients, brewing processes and technologies with the audience and provided insights into their brewery operating experience,” said Wennie Liu, USGC program manager in China. “Around 1,000 people from the beer sector visited our booth and we met with brewers and brewing ingredients importers. We saw continuous interest in U.S. malt, which we hope will generate more opportunity for U.S. malt in China.”

While China’s craft beer industry is growing rapidly and brewers are demanding quality and variety, they have not always been familiar with U.S. malt. The Council’s China office started a malt promotion program in 2019 with a team traveling to North Dakota, Idaho and Colorado.

Additionally, the office has organized a series entitled Meet U.S. Malt, which has been held for the past three years to give China’s beer industry more choices in brewing ingredients and improve their understanding of the quality characteristics in U.S malt.

“We will work closely with China’s beer industry and hope the baby steps we are taking will result in paving the way for the U.S. to become a regular supplier of malted barley for the beer industry in China,” Liu said.

The Council looks forward to continuing its work to build demand for U.S. barley in China by providing support to the sector in the coming years.