Market Report 05/2024

In the following market report, you will find everything about the weather in Germany and its impact on this year’s hop harvest.

Weather in Germany

The winter of 2023/2024 was very wet, helping to compensate for the previous moisture deficit in the soil. From mid-February, unusually warm weather for the season set in, lasting until mid-April. During this time, below-average rainfall was recorded.

From mid-April, there was another cold snap, so now, in mid-May, plant growth is at a normal level.

All spring work in the hop gardens could be carried out on schedule without any delays.

At present, hop growth in all German growing regions can be described as average.

However, due to the warm weather in February and March, an increased population of flea beetles has been observed in all growing regions. There have also been isolated problems with infestation by lovage weevil and the occurrence of primary downy mildew infection.

So far, there have been no storms or bad weather that have damaged the crops.

Cultivation Areas in Germany and the USA

As reported in my June 2023 market report, the cultivation areas for so-called flavor hops continue to decline. This is due to the shrinking craft beer market, especially in the USA, but also in Europe and Germany.

The cultivation areas of former craft brewer favorites, namely Amarillo, Cascade, Chinook, Citra, CTZ, Mosaic, and Willamette, were drastically reduced in the USA, by an average of 25%, and in some cases, up to 37% (Chinook).

The total hop-growing area in the USA decreased by 21.7% compared to the previous year, now standing at 17,734 hectares.

In Europe, the area was reduced by 1.6%, now totaling 31,725 hectares.

In Germany, the area reduction was more moderate at 1.2%, now at 16,919 hectares.

The varieties that experienced the largest reductions were Perle with 210 hectares, Hallertauer Tradition with 140 hectares, and Hallertauer Magnum with 65 hectares.

The area for Herkules increased again by 200 hectares and now totals 7,205 hectares in the Hallertau region.

This represents 42.6% of the total cultivation area in the Hallertau.

Forward Contract Market in Germany

After the 2025 hop harvest, the quota for multi-year delivery contracts between traders and growers will decline sharply.

Currently, only very few follow-up contracts are being offered.

I assume that by then, hop cultivation areas in Germany will significantly decrease, as breweries are also exercising caution.

The great uncertainty in the market stems from the EU in Brussels with its ever-changing regulations regarding permitted plant protection products (PPPs) and their maximum allowable residue limits.
As a result, no market participant is willing to position themselves too early with long-term contracts.

Currently, all market participants are in an unprecedented situation of uncertainty and unpredictability.

What is particularly burdensome for both traders and breweries is the fact that hop stocks from current and previous harvests may no longer be usable if the EU Commission does not change its stance.

Previously, EU regulations on permitted PPPs and their maximum residue limits were always forward-looking from the time of publication.

Since the end of 2023, however, this has also applied retroactively.

Initially, only American and Czech hops treated with the active ingredients bifenazate and etoxazole were affected, but now the next looming threat is the active ingredient dimethomorph.

This active ingredient is used in PPPs against secondary downy mildew infection and is applied on 90% of all German hop cultivation areas.

All associations are pooling their efforts and are in active discussions with relevant German politicians and the EU Commission.

I will keep you informed about the progress of the negotiations.

New Hop Varieties

Great hopes are being placed on the new varieties bred by the Hop Research Center Hüll: Aurum, Diamant, and Tango (aroma varieties), as well as Titan (high-alpha variety).

If you require samples for test brews, please let us know.

Hop Spot Market

There are still sufficient stocks from the 2023 and previous hop harvests in almost all varieties. Should you need any, we would be happy to receive your inquiry.