Barrett Burston Malting’s Dean Ganino, Nuveen Natural Capital head of Asia-Pacific and Africa Kristina Hermanson, Asahi Beverage’s Dave Engel and Boolah director Matthew Durack discuss the value of sustainable grain, and malting barley in particular, at the PURE Grain Field Day in Pallamallawa held earlier this month.
HARVEST of Australia’s 2024-25 barley is off and running, with a few Queensland and far northern New South Wales crops already hitting the bins.
ABARES early this month forecast the national crop at 12.16 million tonnes (Mt) from 4.45Mha, plenty for the domestic market, and a healthy export surplus, even with downward revisions to both figures likely.
Yield loss, and some crops being cut for hay, could see the national total slip below 11Mt, largely because of frost and dry in Victoria and South Australia.
What the tough end to the growing season will do to barley quality is anyone’s guess, and has maltsters and brewers working within their own supply chains thankful they do not have to scramble for volume in the open market.
In his presentation at the Australian Barley Technical Symposium last month, Kardinia Group Consulting principal Trevor Perryman outlined the considerable steps independent maltster and brewer, Coopers, and multinational brewers Lion, Heineken and Asahi are taking towards sustainability.
He also laid out the supply split for an 11.4Mt crop as the national five-year average, with 3.3Mt making malt selection, and 1.2Mt of that being used domestically to make 200,000t of malt for the domestic market and 800,000t for export.
Asahi on front foot
Of the multinationals, it is Asahi Beverages that has the most visible supply chain in Australia.
It made the company the event partner in the inaugural PURE Grain Trial Farm Day held on September 11, and its supplier of malt to its Yatala brewery, Barrett Burston, one of the sponsors.
The day stepped through how PURE’s parent Boolah is growing crops as sustainably as possible for supply to Barrett Burston’s plant at Pinkenba in Brisbane.
Through PURE as the accumulator, it provides Boolah and other malting barley growers in northern New South Wales with a reliable market.
For Asahi, it provides the kind of traceability it needs to help get it to its net zero target.
Asahi Beverages group senior manager raw material development Mark Goldsmith and Boolah head of R&D Brooke Sauer inspect a trial plot of Neo barley at the PURE Grain Field Day.
Speaking on the day, Asahi Beverages regional head of raw materials procurement Dave Engel outlined what the major producer of beer and soft drinks in Australia and New Zealand is doing to help achieve its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
“I need to find the balance between price, quality and surety of supply and, in the past five years, sustainability,” Mr Engel told the gathering of more than 300 people at the Pally Pub in the session that followed the field inspections.
“Consumers are really starting to make decisions about what they’ll buy based on sustainability.”
Australia is the source of 85 percent of Asahi Beverages’ raw materials, namely barley, fruit, hops, and cane sugar.
Mr Engel said Asahi Beverages does not have a target for sustainability certification of raw materials, but he can see it coming from the company’s listed parent, Japan’s Asahi Group.
“I can tell you without doubt that barley will be one of the first…because it is just such a critical input for our business.”
As part of France’s Soufflet Malt group, Barrett Burston has a target to acquire 80pc of barley as sustainably accredited by 2030 as part of its own goal, and to help its brewer customers.
“We’re sitting at around 40-45pc; that’s a great start,” Barrett Burston supply chain director Dean Ganino said, adding that 80pc could well be achieved ahead of the target year.
“Our stretch goal could by 100pc by 2030.”
Aside from Pinkenba, Barrett Burston’s other malthouses are located at North Geelong in Victoria, and Welshpool in Western Australia.
Based on Barrett Burston’s satisfaction with Boolah’s ability to outturn to the Pinkenba plant, Mr Ganino said a supply chain for the west could be in the pipeline.
“We’re certainly working with Boolah to replicate a model like here for us in WA.”
As with Coopers in South Australia, maltsters and brewers in eastern states are well advanced in developing their own supply chains, which include Riordan Grains’ agreement with Asahi in Victoria.
News of anything similar is yet to emerge from WA, but the appetite for it has been made public by WA’s other major maltster, Boortmalt.
Echoing what Boolah director and PURE Grain Network chief executive officer Stuart Tighe said earlier in the day, Mr Ganino said growers in Vic and WA could well be supplying Barrett Burston plants through the PURE Grain chain.
“They’ve got very good relationships with some of our corporate farmers, and that’s what we’ve been able to tap into in WA and also in Victoria.”
In WA, Mr Ganino said the limitation was on-farm storage.
“There’s a lot of farms with good brand new sheds and brand new Landcruisers but no silos (when) there’s a CBH site down the road.
“It’s taking a little bit of time, and in Victoria, Boolah has done some work with us in the past, so there’s further opportunities there.”
‘Get out of gas’
In his presentation, Mr Engel outlined Asahi Beverage’s emissions profile, and where the biggest hurdles lie in its aim to reduce its emissions.
In its bid to lower reliance on fossil fuels, Asahi’s CUB fleet includes a Volvo electric truck which delivers VB around Melbourne. Photo: CUB
The company’s Scope 1 emissions come from natural gas to power its breweries, and the answer there is simple: “We need to get out of gas”.
Scope 2 emissions come from purchased electricity, which he said the company has already made “enormous inroads” into, including through Carlton & United Breweries’ investment in the Karadoc Solar Farm near Mildura.
Scope 3 accounts for 93pc of Asahi Beverages’ emissions, and come from its 3500 suppliers, who Mr Engel said jointly have “tens of thousands” of suppliers.
Mr Engel said agricultural inputs form only a small proportion of Scope 3 emissions, in contrast to packaging, which accounts for half of the company’s overall emissions.
“For that to be net zero, it really really scares me because I’m not sure that our entire supply chain is ready for that.”
Nonetheless, the company has made a strong start, not least by partnering with its major competitor in the non-alcoholic beverage space, Coca-Cola, in Circular Plastics Australia, which has plants in Albury and Melbourne to recycle PET plastic bottles.
“We are actually desperate to collaborate on this stuff; that’s why we’re here; we’re all ears.”
Grain Central: Get our free news straight to your inbox – Click here
HAVE YOUR SAY