Former Donald resident, Mary Raynes, was among speakers at the 2025 AEGIC Australian barley seminars in China, early this month.

The daughter of Donald’s Peter and Colleen Raynes, Mary was the leader of the delegation representing the Australia barley supply chain delivering the two major seminars.

A delegation representing the Australian barley supply chain delivered two major technical seminars for the Chinese brewing and malting industries, supported by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations (NFACR).

The AEGIC-led Australian malting barley technical seminars for China are a highlight of the calendar and reflect the importance of the Chinese market for Australian barley.

China is a major market for Australian barley, worth almost $1.2 billion on average.

The fully booked seminars in Guangzhou (July 8) and Beijing (July 10) were received well by the Chinese industry which appreciates staying connected with the Australian barley industry and receiving the latest technical insights on barley production, breeding and varieties.

The Beijing seminar was opened by Mr Scott Dewar, Australian Ambassador the People’s Republic of China.

The seminars also featured:

• Mary Raynes; AEGIC Markets Manager – Lead (delegation leader).
• Dr Paul Telfer; Australian Grain Technologies Senior Barley Breeder.
• Dr Silvina Baraibar; InterGrain Barley Breeder.
• Simon Tickner; Australian barley grower.
• Mark Lewis; Riordan Grain Chief Commercial Officer.
• Megan Edwards; Feed nutrition expert and AEGIC consultant.

AEGIC collaborates with the Australian grain trade and the breeding sector to ensure organisations have fair opportunities to take part in these annual events.

Panel discussions

Each seminar also featured panel discussions with representatives of the Chinese malting and brewing industries, including the China Alcoholic Drinks Association (CADA), Dalian Xingze Malt and CBH Grain Asia.

The audiences were highly engaged and the content prompted energetic discussion and questions.

In between the seminars, the delegation visited a number malting and brewing companies and industry organisations, including Guangdong Hai Da Group, Supertime Malting, COFCO Grains Holdings Limited, Chinese Alcoholic Drinks Association (CADA), CR Beer (Snow Brewery), Malt-Europ (Baoding). Delegation members were also guests of Yanjing Brewery’s 34th Beijing International Yanjing Beer Culture Festival 2025.

Consistent quality

All companies AEGIC met with reaffirmed the strong reputation and consistent quality of Australian malting barley.

The Chinese malting and brewing industry expressed a clear interest in accessing deeper technical insights to new and upcoming Australian barley varieties.

There is strong interest in building long-term technical and commercial relationships with Australia to support variety selection, improve brewing outcomes, and enhance supply chain confidence.

The Chinese industry places strong value on the AEGIC-led Australian barley technical seminars, considering them a key fixture in their annual calendar for accessing up-to-date insights on barley quality, variety development, and brewing performance.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 25 July 2025.