Grainswest - Spring 2026

Spring 2026 Grains West 44 A CMBTC technical mission to Colombia in March 2026 will offer additional insights into the requirements of this market. BY PETER WATTS Canada once again supplies malting barley to Colombia COLOMBIA, A SOUTH AMERICAN country of more than 50 million people, has a long brewing tradition introduced by German and European immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries. Bavaria, by far the largest brewing company in Colombia, was established in 1889 and grew during the 20th century through a series of mergers to become a near monopoly by 2000. The brewer’s flagship beer brands Aguila and Poker are omni- present in Colombia. In 2005, Bavaria was purchased by SABMiller and then in 2016 became part of AB InBev when the two global brewing giants merged. Today, Bavaria operates in several additional countries that include Chile and Peru under the AB InBev umbrella. Sister company Cerveceria Nacional does business in Ecuador. Together with Co- lombia, these four countries offer a sub- stantial market as they import 125,000 tonnes of malt and 300,000 tonnes of malting barley each year. Historically, Canada was a supplier of malting barley used by Colombia’s malt- ing operations. After the merger, with the introduction of new brewing recipes and a complicated tender process, AB In- Bev purchases from Canada stopped and remained on hold ever since. In the fall of 2025, however, with the production of a large, high quality barley crop in West- ern Canada and the return of competitive export prices, purchases resumed and Colombia once again imports malting barley from Canada. Meanwhile, Colombia did not pause the importation of a certain amount of Canadian malt. Though the quantity has been relatively limited to between 5,000 and 15,000 tonnes a year. Canada has been commercially sidelined by Colombia with respect to malting barley purchases over the last nine years, but market development initi- atives have continued. Working with the Bavaria technical team based in Bogota, the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC) engages regularly with the brewery’s staff to provide quality and performance data on new varieties, an- nual crop quality and production supply. Pilot scale samples of Canadian barley are sent to the brewery’s laboratory for in-house evaluation, and Bavaria staff members have attended training courses at the CMBTC facility in Winnipeg, MB. Playing the long game has ultimately paid off. In 2025, the stars aligned with a combination of internal modifications to Bavaria brewing processes, for which Canadian barley is well suited, and this country’s increased competitiveness with fellow barley producing nations such as Argentina, Australia and France. This has since led to the export of 56,000 tonnes of Canadian malting barley to Colombia. CMBTC will continue to work with the Bavaria technical team to evaluate Formermarket re-established THE MALT HOUSE and test newer Canadian malting barley varieties in hopes this will lead to their approval for purchase. This can be an arduous process, as new varieties must first be tested at the pilot scale, which is then followed by trials at the commercial scale. The process often takes a couple of years. The good news is the Bavaria pro- cess is well underway with varieties such as AAC Connect and CDC Fraser having been pilot tested with commercial trials pending. Evaluation of one of the newest Canadian varieties, CDC Churchill, will also soon get underway. And a CMBTC technical mission to Colombia in March 2026 will offer additional insights into the requirements of this market. It will also ensure Canadian barley and malt will continue to be an important part of the grist for Colombia’s beermakers in coming years. Peter Watts is the CMBTC managing director.