Hops Trade Pt 1
I'm Bob Larson. Another hop season is on the way here in the Pacific Northwest where growers continue to dominate U.S. production of a key ingredient in beers of all kinds.Thanks to our favorable climate, ideal soils, and water availability, over 90% of U.S. hops are grown in the PNW, mostly in Washington's Yakima Valley.
And, the Washington Hop Commission's Jaki Brophy says we export roughly 60% of our hops ...
BROPHY ... "Right now, the U.S. produces about 40% of the whole world's supply and it did get sucked in a little bit for a while just because there was more demand domestically, hence the acreage change so that we could satisfy all of our customer needs domestic and international, but it's roughly about that amount every year."
So now, Brophy says, in recent years at least, the U.S. leads the world in hop production ...
BROPHY ... "We do, yeah. It used to be that the U.S. and Germany both independently produced about a third of the world's supply and now we've just edged up a little bit to get to that 40% level, that is thanks to acreage increases as signified by contracts that we've signed with customers and then also thanks to some good growing conditions as well."
70% of North American hops are grown in Washington, 15% in Oregon, and 11% in Idaho.
Tune in tomorrow for more on the expanding Northwest hop production and our place in the worldwide market.