Increased demand for barley has caused imports to skyrocket in Brazil, according to partial data from January to September released by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex).

The volume bought by the country in the period, 686,000 tons, already exceeds the entire amount for 2023, when 616,000 tons were purchased.

Paraná is the biggest buyer
More than 60% of the product that arrives here comes through the Port of Paranaguá to supply the Paraná malting plants.

According to the director of Canal Rural Sul, Giovani Ferreira, the phenomenon is due to the greater demand for brewing malt in the country, reinforced by the opening of a new industry in the sector in the municipality of Guarapuava, in the center-south of Paraná.

Now, out of every ten units of beer sold in Brazil, five will be made with malt from Paraná. “To do this, we'll need a lot of barley. As well as the product imported by Paraná from Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, we also need to buy from other countries.”

According to Ferreira, if the trend continues for the rest of the year, which it probably will, Brazil is expected to import around one million tons of malt by December.

Source: Canal Rural