Beer market grows in Brazil and interest in national production of hops and barley increases

Hops and barley are essential ingredients for brewing beer, and the production of these inputs in Brazil tends to increase to meet the internal demand, which is growing. In 2020, Brazil reached a total of 1,383 breweries registered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply (Mapa), an increase of 14.4% compared to the previous year, according to the Anuário da Cerveja 2020.

Hops, a plant of the humulus lupulus species used in the production of beer, is responsible for the aroma and bitterness of the drink. In Brazil, the growth in the production of craft beers has increased the demand for quality hops, mainly because this type of drink requires a greater quantity of the product in its composition.

To meet this demand, in recent years, Brazilian producers have started to grow hops in the country, as the brewing industry imports almost 100% of this raw material. Data extracted from the Comex Stat platform, of the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC), show that in 2020, Brazil imported 3,243,000 tons of the input for US$ 57 million.

Malt

Another input that makes up beer is barley, the raw material for malt, the main source of fermentable sugars which gives the beverage body, color, aroma, and flavors. In order to be used, the cereal undergoes processing to produce brewing malt, which takes place in three distinct stages: maceration, germination, and drying.

In 2019, 31 million tons of barley grains and around 8 million tons of malt were sold in the world. In the same year, Brazil imported 671,000 tons of barley grain, ranking 11th among the largest barley importers in the world. It also imported 1.09 million tons of malt, ranking first among the world’s largest malt importers.

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