With the vegetation period being in full swing in the northern hemisphere, Eisemann Hops has released its newest hops report.
The German hops acreage in 2019 was moderately increased compared to last year by just under 1.4% to 20,417 ha. Main increases could be seen by the varieties Perle, Hallertauer Tradition and Hercules. The acreage dedicated to flavor hops has slightly decreased by about 140 ha (thereof -100 ha Amarillo alone) but still accounts for about 55 percent of the overall acreage, while bitter hops account for the remaining 45 percent.
Cultivation of U.S. hops has remained stable at 24.390 ha with only some shifts in the varieties. As is the last year aroma hops accounts for the majority of 75 percent of the cultivated area in the United States.
As weather conditions are similar to last year and precipitation over the next 5 - 6 weeks is crucial, predictions on the upcoming crop 2019 are hard to make.
Pre-contract hops for crop 2019 and 2020 have already reached high levels, both in terms of quantities and prices. For the years thereafter, pre-contract quantities and prices are falling.
