Australia: Coopers malt sales increase despite COVID-19

Family-owned Coopers Brewery from Adelaide, Australia, is now also successful in the sale of malt. The company has inaugurated in November 2017 a new 54,000 ton malthouse, which does not only serve the brewer’s own need of 15,000 tons of malt a year but also leaves enough caoacity for exporting malt (inside.beer, 30.11.2017).

Within the last twelve month, Coopers has now managed to double its sales to outside customers despite the impact of COVID-19 on the business. About 35,000 tons of malt have been shipped last year mainly to food producers and brewers in South Korea, Thailand and Singapore with smaller quantities being sold to brewers and distillers across Northern and Southeast Asia.

Dr Doug Stewart, Maltings Manager at Coopers said the demand for malt remains strong. The maltings exported 3,100 tons of malt in March which is still high compared to the all-time high from January with 3,700 tons. "While Coopers has experienced a reduction in its beer sales as a result of COVID-19 shutdowns, demand from other malt customers, particularly overseas, remains strong," Dr Stewart said. "Coopers has also seen increases in sales of DIY beer concentrates and malt extract."

“Because a good proportion of our exports are going into the food trade, we are not meaningfully impacted by any slowdown experienced by brewers,” Dr Stewart said.

Share this article: