Malting Barley in Kazakhstan: Growing Interest in the Crop Increases the Importance of Malt Quality Control
The 2026 sowing campaign in Kazakhstan is taking place under favorable conditions. According to Nurbol Baymut, Chief Agronomist of the Experimental Oilseed Farm, sufficient winter snowfall and timely snowmelt ensured good moisture accumulation in the soil.
This year, the spring sowing area at the farm amounted to 7,000 hectares. The enterprise cultivates grain, oilseed, and forage crops. Special attention is being paid to malting barley, which demonstrates high profitability. By autumn, the price of malting barley is expected to reach 120,000 tenge per ton.
Against the backdrop of growing interest in malting barley, not only stable yields but also further assessment of raw material quality for processing are becoming increasingly important. For malt houses and brewing companies, controlling the malting value of malt is essential, since the stability of the technological process and the quality of the final product largely depend on malt quality.
One of the instruments used for this purpose is the Friabilimeter malt friability analyzer by Pfeuffer. It is designed to determine malt quality and makes it possible to assess its condition quickly, including immediately after kilning. This helps identify possible issues in the malting process in time and make the necessary process adjustments.
3S Company is the official representative of Pfeuffer in Ukraine and Kazakhstan and offers equipment for laboratory quality control of grain, malt, and other agricultural products.
As malting barley production expands and quality requirements continue to grow, modern laboratory instruments are becoming an important tool for farmers, malt houses, and brewing enterprises. They help not only monitor product parameters but also improve the predictability of the entire production process — from the field to finished malt.