Western Australia
December 21, 2011
A fact finding mission to investigate developments in the Canadian malting barley industry has provided a wealth of information resulting in the refinement of Western Australia’s Pilot Malting Australia (PMA) facility operations.
WA is a major contributor to world malting barley trade, producing about 2.5 million tonnes annually of which 85 per cent is exported, worth more than $400 million.
Department of Agriculture and Food WA scientific officer Stefan Harasymow said Canada was seen as WA’s main malting barley competitor in the international trading arena and it was a valuable opportunity to interact with the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC).
“In addition it was important to determine how improvements could be made to Western Australia’s new pilot malting facility which was opened by Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman in Perth earlier this year,” Mr Harasymow said.
“CMBTC is an independent organisation established to provide technical assistance to the Canadian malting and brewing industries. As such there is no other organisation like it in the world with whole of industry funding support.”
As part of the interaction with the CMBTC, the department hosted a reciprocal visit by Dr Yueshu Li from CMBTC, who has provided valuable advice with the plant’s commissioning.
“From here the way forward is to develop an operational business plan for PMA and instigate its role in new variety and market development, education and training,” Mr Harasymow said.
Pilot Malting Australia is jointly funded by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia and Edith Cowan University.
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