Over the past three decades, Ukraine has reduced the area under hops from 7.4 thousand hectares in 1990 to 0.3 thousand hectares in 2023, according to Oleksandr Haidu, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy.
“Last year, only 460 tons of hops were harvested in Ukraine with an average yield of 13 c/ha,” he wrote on Facebook following a roundtable discussion on the implementation of EU requirements in the hop industry.
According to Gaidu, this reduction in acreage has led to the fact that domestic hops cover only 20% of the needs of breweries, while the rest of the products are imported.
In his opinion, the figures demonstrate the industry’s need for development and support, in particular by encouraging the use of domestic hops in production.
