26 Oct 2017 14:09

Heineken expects to increase barley planting in Irkutsk region 5.5-fold by 2020

IRKUTSK. Oct 26 (Interfax) - Heineken's brewery in Irkutsk intends to boost barley planting in Irkutsk Region 5.5-fold by 2020 and become completely self-sufficient in locally-produced grains used for malting.

"I think that over the course of two years we will be self-sufficient in raw materials. This includes increasing barley planting to 10,000 hectares. This will cover the needs of our malt house [in Irkutsk] whose capacity has been calculated at 30,000 tonnes of malt per year," the director of Heineken Brewery Baikal, Yevgeny Strelets, said at an Interfax press conference in Irkutsk.

Strelets also said that barley planting totaled 1,800 hectares in 2017, which means the company intends to increase crop area by over 5-fold by 2020.

Heineken Brewery Baikal currently buys barley from enterprises in Russia's Central Black Earth region to be malted in Irkutsk. By switching to barely grown by Irkutsk farmers, the company expects to save up to 30% of transport expenses.

Heineken Brewery Baikal, formerly the Irkutsk brewery which Heineken bought in 2005, produces 12 million decaliters per year and produces 10 different brands of beer.