Vietnam's fast-growing thirst for beer is driving a barley boom for West Australian farmers who have now gained unprecedented access to the South East Asian market with the opening of the region's largest malting facility.

Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage among the country's young vibrant population, making up 95 per cent of all alcohol consumed in the country.

The new malting plant gives WA barley growers direct access into Vietnam, the fastest-growing beer market in Asia.

"We've picked Vietnam for our new venture into malting because of the dramatic growth there in beer consumption, we've seen beer consumption there grow at between 6 and 9 per cent in recent years," WA grains cooperative CBH Group CEO Andy Crane said.

CBH Chief executive Andy Crane says the new Vietnamese facility will be the first major domestic malting plant. ( ABC News: Jon Sambell )

"Beer consumption in Australia like many Western countries is stagnant or increasing quite slowly, mainly in the craft beer sector, so the place for growth in barley production is overseas."

Milling company Interflour, which is part-owned by the CBH Group, opened its $70 million facility in Vietnam on Wednesday.

Mr Crane said WA farmers were already strong players in the malting barley market but the Vietnamese facility further strengthened their global position.

"We'll be the first real major producers of malt within [Vietnam] so we'll be displacing imported malt for the production and satisfying the growing demand from the big international brewers for that market," he said.

The Heineken facility in Vietnam. ( Supplied )

The facility would service major brewers in the region like Heineken Vietnam, and has already secured 42,000 tonnes of malt barley, most of which was supplied by farmers in the West Australian Wheatbelt.

Great Southern grain grower Derek Curwen said the Vietnamese facility provided farmers with a secure market for their barley and the ability to compete in the world market.

His malt barley was on its way to the new facility to be processed.

"This is a big chance for us to move up the supply chain and bring some value back to the farm," he said.

"In the past seven to 10 years the cost of compliance and regulation is just such a big burden on small business, we struggle to compete in the world market with anything."

Mr Curwen said he would plant more barley if the demand for beer resulted in higher prices for the cereal.

"These industries are price-driven and we can swing our rotations one way or another to grow more barley if need be," he said.

Nguyễn Thị Tường Vi says beer is increasingly popular in Vietnam. ( Supplied: Nguyễn Thị Tường Vi )

Sales executive Nguyễn Thị Tường Vi told the ABC beer was everywhere in Vietnam, at family parties, company functions, and it was common to hang out with friends after work and have a drink.

"When people think of a party, they will think of a place to have beers," she said.

"Most of people drink bottoms up, we say '1, 2, 3 dzo' and then finish a glass.

"Of course, a glass of beer has to be filled up with ice, that (would) feel so weird in your country."

Australia is set to become the world's largest barley exporter this year. ( ABC News: Robert Koenig-Luck )

Australia is poised to become the world's largest barley exporter this year, with about 40 per cent of the crop destined for beer markets in Asia and the Middle East.

WA is the largest malting barley producer in Australia and barley exports are worth more than $900 million a year to the state.

Earlier this year scientists revealed they had sequenced the entire barley genome, which was considered a significant breakthrough for the development of better quality beer and drought-resistant crops.

Lead researcher in the barley genome project, Murdoch University Professor Chengdao Li said barley research was considered to be of particular importance because is was a key ingredient in beer.