Hop growers in the two most important hop-growing countries, Germany and the USA, are drastically reducing their cultivation areas!
Hop growers in Germany and the USA are responding to the oversupply of hops and hop products by taking land off the market.
Due to shorter multi-year contracts, the US has already responded to the harvest of 2021 and will take 30% of the total hop cultivation area off the market by the harvest of 2025.
Currently, approximately 17,100 hectares of hops are cultivated in the main growing region of the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho).
The situation in Germany is somewhat different. Hop growers with long-term contracts, some of which run until the 2032 harvest, are understandably unwilling to clear hop fields that are under contract. The process of reducing acreage is therefore much slower than in the US.
In the period E2021/E2024, the area under cultivation in Germany decreased by only 1.6%.
Only around 1,330 hectares = 6.5% were taken out of production for the 2025 harvest.
There were significant reductions in the areas under cultivation of the Hallertauer Tradition (-444 ha), Perle (-517 ha), Hallertauer Magnum (-292 ha) and, for the first time, Herkules (-69 ha) varieties.
The still young high-alpha variety Titan saw significant growth of +238 ha.
In Germany, around 8,400 hectares will be planted with aroma varieties and around 10,600 hectares with bitter hops for the 2025 harvest.
The hop cultivation area in 2025 has thus been reduced to 18,962 hectares.
These reductions in area will not be sufficient to bring supply and demand into balance.
Weather in Germany
Even though we often perceive it differently, both the winter of 2024/25 and the period from January to May 2025 were below the long-term average in terms of precipitation.
As of May 31, 2025, however, the hops had coped relatively well with this.
The only pest that had to be combated across the board was the flea beetle. Aphids and red spider mites are present, but only had to be combated in isolated cases.
The first isolated hailstorms passed over the southeastern Hallertau region on June 2, 2025. Damage reports were sent to trading companies. The extent of the damage is currently being assessed.
Preliminary contract market in Germany
The preliminary contract market is quiet. There have been isolated inquiries about multi-year contracts, some of which have been concluded.
Due to the general uncertainty in the market, there is a noticeable trend toward contracts with shorter terms.
Hop spot market
Almost all hop varieties from previous harvests are still available at fair prices.
If you have any requirements, I would be pleased to receive your inquiry.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone or email.