Guidelines for hop buying 2024
Hop market | We are experiencing significant change in the hop market. There have been drastic acreage reductions in USA and reductions are expected in Europe. The beer industry has experienced a decline in production heretofore unknown. It remains challenging to reach new generations of consumers.
On-premise sales of beer remain well below industry expectations as both new habits and inflationary costs have pushed consumers away from beer. As a result, worldwide hop acreage will continue to be reduced. Growers without good access to water and more sustainable varieties will likely leave the industry. It is imperative that brewers maintain an open mind and active process to modernize their lists of approved varieties. Hopsteiner and our advanced hop breeding program stands ready to work with hop growers and brewers to achieve this. In the meantime, we are expecting beer sales to again return to slightly positive numbers, so markets should stabilize as supply is adjusted, inventories are brought down, and acreage levels off.
Hopsteiner Newsletter November 2024