Grain SA CEO, Jannie de Villiers facilitated a panel discussion which included Josh Hammann, Director Agro Development Africa for ABIbev (South Africa’s largest brewing company); Erenst Pelser, CEO of SSK (Sentraal-Suid Co-operative); RD Erasumus, Chairperson of the Barley Speciality Committee and Gert Claasen, commercial Barley Farmer and member of the Barley Speciality Committee.
The discussion gave an insight into the complexities of the Barley industry which has several unique challenges. These include storage and overall cultivation. The speakers enlightened the audience to the differences between producing malt barley and feed barley which is marketed differently and are priced differently.
There are about 5 different cultivars being produced in South Africa and according to Erenst each cultivar needs to be stored separately.
Josh gave a passionate account of ABInbev’s commitment to investing into the local barley industry. “Beer consumption in the US and Europe is declining and the growth markets are in Africa and the East. The South African barley industry contributes to just under half of the world’s production. We produce about 6 million tons.”
Other issues touched on in the discussion includes the risks of climate and harvest and the lack of insurance products in the industry.
To find out more about the dynamics of developing the Barley industry visit the Nation in Conversation website at
www.nationinconversation.co.za and watch the full programme.