Barley deal to help UK brewers gain inroads in China

The United Kingdom has signed an up to 100 million pounds ($151 million) deal to export barley to China over the next five years, tapping into a fast-growing market for premium beer, a British minister said.

China, home to a 486 billion yuan ($76 billion) beer market that is the world's largest by volume, currently buys about 8 million tons a year of the grain, mainly from Australia, Canada and France.

The deal marks the first time that Beijing has approved barley imports from the UK, and will involve purchases of around 150,000 tons a year, Elizabeth Truss, British secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, told Reuters.