Germany: Hop acreage, number of hop growers falls in Germany in 2021

The steady decline in the number of hop growers continues. In 2021 there were 25 fewer producers in Germany (Hallertau -20, Spalt -5). The average hop acreage farmed by the 1,062 producers rose to 19.4 ha (+0.4 ha), the Barth-Haas Group said in its annual report.

In the Hallertau production region, the average hop acreage farmed by the 860 producers was 20 ha. In Elbe-Saale there were 29 farms with 55 ha, in Tettnang 125 with 12 ha, and in Spalt 46 with 9 ha. In Rhenish Palatinate/Bitburg, Germany’s smallest production region, there were two hop growers with an average of 11 ha per grower.

After seven years of expansion, hop acreage in Germany fell again for the first time in 2021. It fell by 86 ha (-0.4 %) as a result of a reduction in aroma variety acreage by 337 ha (-3 %) and the expansion of bitter variety acreage by 251 ha (+3 %). Aroma variety acreage amounting to 10,999 ha accounted for 53 % (-1.4 %) of total hop acreage. The bitter varieties on the other hand, with 9,622 ha, saw their share rise to 47 % (+1.4 %).

The top five varieties in Germany had a combined acreage of 15.831 ha and accounted for more than three quarters of the country’s total hop acreage (77 %). The variety with the largest share of acreage, the bitter hop Herkules, also saw the largest expansion, adding 257 ha (4 %). The secondplaced variety, the aroma hop Perle, saw its acreage grow slightly by 34 ha (1 %). The opposite was the case for the number-three variety Hallertau Tradition. Its acreage declined by 26 ha (-1 %). In fourth place, the bitter variety Hallertau Magnum saw its acreage decline by 57 ha (-3 %). The fifth-placed variety Hersbruck Spaet shed an acreage of 83 ha (-9 %). The second-largest acreage expansion for this crop year was recorded for the bitter variety Polaris which added 96 ha (+28 %).

Hallertau is Germany’s largest hop-growing region, with 17,122 ha and accounting for 83 % of the country’s total acreage. It is followed by Elbe-Saale with 1,582 ha (8 %), Tettnang with 1,494 ha (7 %), Spalt with 400 ha (2 %) and Rhenish Palatinate/Bitburg with 22 ha.
As a result of above-average crop yield, the proportion of hops sold on the basis of forward contracts decreased, which led to an increase in the volume of spot hops. According to the EU crop report, German hop growers had forward contracted 81 % of their crop volume at an average price of 6.58 EUR/kg. Growers received the first bids for noncontracted hops in the third week of September, before the harvest was over. Fixed-price purchase offers were only received in isolated cases and for selected varieties. Most of the non-contracted hops were bought at prepayment prices by marketing firms as pool hops.

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