French malt major Soufflet to invest $118 mln in India amid booming beer demand

Paris: France's Soufflet Malt, the world's largest malt producer, will invest 100 million euros ($118.2 million) in a new production facility in India as it aims to capture rising beer demand in emerging markets, it said on Friday.

The facility, to be located in the south of the state of Rajasthan, will ‌produce 110,000 ⁠metric tons ⁠of malt annually in its first phase, which is scheduled for completion by early 2028. A second phase, which could double output, is planned if beer consumption in India continues to rise.

Soufflet Malt's push in emerging markets contrasts with restructuring in Europe, where it faces declining beer consumption. The group said it would close two factories ​in Germany and one in the UK to optimise ⁠costs.


"We have ‌countries in which there are decreases (in beer consumption), but ​if there is ​one country where we see really a big growth ⁠coming, it's India," Soufflet Malt Chief Executive Jorge Solis told ​Reuters from India where he was travelling with French ​President Emmanuel Macron on a three-day visit to the country.

India's per capita beer consumption remains low at about 2 litres annually, compared to about 70 litres in the United States and 130 litres in the Czech Republic, the world's top consumer, industry data shows.

Solis highlighted whisky as another growth segment in ‌India, noting that the country is the largest whisky market globally, with demand significantly surpassing that for beer.

Soufflet Malt, part of French grain group InVivo, already operates ⁠a malt house in Rajasthan, with an 18,000-ton capacity. It sources its barley locally and supplies malt to local brewers, including United Breweries Limited, a Heineken-owned company that controls about half of India's beer market.

Elsewhere, Soufflet Malt is exploring plans to expand its footprint in South America, which is likely to include doubling its production capacity in Brazil, Solis said.

The firm is currently building a malt plant in South Africa dedicated to supplying Heineken.

($1 = 0.8460 euros)