UK: Hops market situation in England
By the start of the 2004 Englands harvest approximatly 80% of the aroma hops and approximately 35% of the alpha hops were accounted for by forward contracts, according to the Barth Report as of June 2005.
In the meantime the entire crop was sold. Owing to falling demand for alpha varieties, a sharp reduction in acreage is expected for these varieties in 2005.
Aroma hop acreage, on the other hand, is to remain unchanged. Forward contracts account for 75% of the aroma hops.