An organization that promotes the use of Canadian malting barley has received a financial boost from the federal government.
The Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC) will use the $1.95 million in funding to maintain existing markets for Canadian malting barley and develop new ones.
“Today’s investment will boost Canada’s competitiveness in this specialized market, resulting in direct benefits to our economy, both right here in Winnipeg and across the country,” Conservative MP Shelly Glover said when making the announcement Nov. 14.
The centre was established nearly 15 years ago to boost the competitiveness of the Canadian malting barley industry. One of its key functions is providing customer support and technical advice to buyers of Canadian malting barley.
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It includes a state-of-the art brewing and malting facility, which is used to test the performance of Canadian malting barley varieties. The facility also provides technical training and problem-solving advice to international customers.
Canada supplies 20 percent of the world’s malting barley and is the world’s largest exporter of finished malt.
Funding to support CMBTC’s operation comes from membership fees, government funding and producer levies.
The Alberta Barley Commission collects and administers the levies through the Western Canadian Deduction, which also supports the Western Grains Research Foundation and the Canadian International Grains Institute.
The commission collected $10.7 million in levies in 2012-13, of which the CMBTC received $160,000.
The federal funding comes from Agriculture Canada’s five-year $341 million AgriMarketing program.
“Canada’s malting barley industry is a global leader for the value-added services that we provide,” said CMBTC managing director Peter Watts.
“The funding … will help provide technical support to maintain existing market share and generate growth in expanding markets.”
