Nigeria’s Barley-Malt Import Ban Accelerates Sorghum Brewing Research

On January 1, 1988, Nigeria’s federal government prohibited imports of barley malt. Industrial breweries had to reformulate lager and malt-drink production around locally available grains, particularly sorghum and maize, while developing new malting, enzyme, and process techniques. The policy was economically and technically disruptive, but it accelerated research and investment in African raw materials. Later policy reversals reopened malt imports, yet sorghum retained an important place in Nigerian industrial brewing.