SA malting barley production to expand

SAB Miller plans to double its malting capacity in Africa by 2030, to between 900 000t and one million tons, according to Thinus van Schoor, general manager at SAB Maltings and Hops Farms.

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Speaking at a barley farmers’ day in Hartswater, he said the South African malting barley production industry is ideally positioned to accommodate the growingdemand for malting barley.

“Our SA malting barley programme is considered the best of all similar SAB Miller programmes regarding both yields and quality," he said.

SAB Malting is also invested in the breeding and selection of barley varieties suited to the malting industry. As a resulted, the company recently purchased land in the Vaalharts irrigation scheme to ensure the development of effective barley varieties, said Van Schoor.

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He said the first malting at the company’s R800-million Alrode plant will take place in May or June 2015. This means the first barley for processing will be taken in by March or April next year.