Barley quality compromises supply for the beer industry in Rio Grande do Su

The barley harvest in Rio Grande do Sul is progressing with good productivity, but the quality of the grains has compromised supply to the beer industry. According to the Emater/RS-Ascar Conjuntural Report, released on November 7, most of the harvest will not meet the standards required for the production of first-class malt, which poses challenges for the state's breweries. The production will be mostly composed of grains classified as second-class, which, although they do not meet all the requirements for homogeneity, adequate size and high germination capacity, can still be used, but with less efficiency in the malting process. In this harvest, the area cultivated with barley is 34,398 hectares, which represents a reduction of 15.47% in relation to the 40,695 hectares cultivated last year, according to the IBGE. However, average productivity increased to 3,431 kg/ha, a 5.73% increase compared to the 3,245 kg/ha initially projected by Emater/RS-Ascar. The production estimate is ...