Climate change and falling prices: hop growers under pressure
German hop growers have harvested a below-average crop this year and see climate change as the reason. Association president Adi Schapfl said on Wednesday in Nuremberg that the harvest had increased by 20 percent compared to the previous year to over 41,000 tons. However, the quantity and quality measured by alpha acids were below the long-term average. The excessively dry July was to blame. Irrigation systems and new hop varieties should provide a long-term remedy.
However, there is an oversupply of hops on the world market and prices are falling as a result. The global hop harvest has increased by 9 percent to 117,000 tons, but "the high stocks from previous harvests are increasingly weighing on the market," said Pascal Piroué, Chairman of the German Hop Industry Association. This is because beer output in Europe, Asia and North America is falling. There are many requests from the brewing industry to cancel supply contracts for hops.
The beer market is expected to remain weak next year. "As a result, the prices for spot hops in the 2023 harvest have already reacted considerably with significantly falling prices," said Piroué. Russia, previously an important buyer of European hops, is likely to become increasingly self-sufficient. "In order to bring the market back into balance, the area in all main hop-growing regions would have to be noticeably reduced," said the expert.
Around 35,000 tons or almost a third of the hops grown worldwide come from the Hallertau region between Munich and Regensburg. Tettnang on Lake Constance and the Elbe-Saale region are also among the larger hop-growing areas.
Schapfl said that a seventh of the cultivation area in the USA had already been cleared due to the massive oversupply of aroma hop varieties. "We are currently also seeing a significant drop in prices for German free hops", i.e. the quantities that have not yet been sold in advance with a contract. "This could also lead to a reduction in hop acreage in Germany."
Despite the increase in hop harvest in Germany, the excessively dry July led to below-average crop with lower alpha acids, causing tension for Drinks manufacturers who rely on high-quality Hops for beer production. The global oversupply of Hops, coupled with falling prices, has resulted in many Trade negotiations for breweries to cancel their supply contracts.
Source: www.dpa.com
