Informist, Tuesday, May 4, 2021

By Rahul Dhuri and Roshni Devi

MUMBAI – The rising demand for alcohol, especially beer, and a surge in prices of barley in the domestic market have pushed malt markers to look overseas for supply of the grain. Sources told Informist that malt makers have already signed deals to import 60,000 tn of barley from Argentina in the coming weeks.

The shipment is scheduled to reach Adani Port in Gujarat in the first week of June. Though the source did not reveal the price of the shipment, he said the landed free-on-board price was lower than domestic prices and that the coarse grain was of superior quality.

Prices of barley have surged over 20% since the beginning of April due to an acute supply crunch and higher demand. In Jaipur, the benchmark market, the grain was today sold at 1,845-1,855 rupees per 100 kg.

"Supplies are negligible due to low stocks with farmers as the peak arrival season will end in the next 10-15 days. Traders also have only limited stocks," said Munna Samodiya, owner of the Jaipur-based Bansal Trading.

Currently, daily supply at markets in Rajasthan is a meagre 100-150 bags (1 bag = 85 kg), compared to an average of 18,000-20,000 bags for this time of the year, experts said. The crunch is expected to lift prices by more than 35% in the coming weeks and keep them elevated until imports arrive in June.

The malt industry has increased its purchases of barley as higher temperatures in the summer usually spur  demand for alcohol, especially beer, said Satish Tambi, the owner of the Jaipur-based Shubham Trading.

"The market is already facing a supply crunch and imports at the moment are likely to take time, while there is peak demand from beer makers," said an official at a Rajasthan-based brewery.

Breweries had taken a hit last year due to the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown and people reducing their consumption of alcohol, which is known to weaken immunity. Demand for barley from the sector, as a result, suffered a setback.  End

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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