The record-union., 1896-10-03
OUTLOOK FOR HOPS.
Alleged Causes Of the Extremely Low
Prices.
How Pacific Coast Hops Are Said to
be Handled in the London
Markets.

The annual report on the hop crop
and market sent out by Thomas & Short
OF London, under date of September
10th, is at hand After giving the par
ticulars of the home crop and import.
and concluding that this years crop
will be fully equal to the demand, the
circular letter says:
The past seasons market has been a
disastrous one for Pacific hops, and has
been characterized by an unparalleled
record in market breaking. Prices of
Pacific hops opened at about 1912
cents per pound for ordinary best quail
ltieS, some extra good lots realizing one
to two cents more. There was grad
Cal decline to about 8 cents by Febru-
ary. In that month the trade was
startled by circulars of Messrs. Horst
brothers, to brewers offering the best
class of Paciffcs viz: Choice Sonoma
Hops, 1898, to arrive April, 'at the ex-
tremely low price Of 22s. per cwt" Cor
ga cents per pound), a drop to half the
actual worth of such hops at the time of
the offers. This astounding and sense
less cut entirely demoralized the mar
ket, which accordingly fell in April to
the unprecedentedly low point of Az to
AZ cents for the best Paciics on spot,
rificed at these figures, involving an
enormous loss to their owners The
market afterwards recovered somewhat
from this blow, upon statements from
the coast that the cheap hops were
falsely described and at the close of the
season, medium to choice Pacifics sold
at 512 to 6l2 cents per pound. Common
To medium PacificS have been very diff
cult to place, and a fair quantity of good
quality Pacifics still remain unsold,
owing to the excess of supplies over de-
mand.
In New York State hops business has
been very limited The quality of the
parcels Offering here has been generally
too poor. There is always an opening
here for good quality States, and there
has been the usual inquiry for such dur
ing the past season.
AS to prices for the coming season, the
outlook is too battling to venture our
usual indications Of probable opening
prices. The general situation as regards
crops is certainly in the growers favor,
and ought to insure improved prices;
but the causes which usually influence
the market count for nothing against
such bearing operations as we draw at
tention to. The coming seasons pros
ptClo lOI dcIilC HOpS nave also already
been seriously compromised by the
same firm, who as early in the present
growing season as the 21st of July pre-
pared the minds Of British brewers for
cheap Pacifics again this season, in a
circular in which they stated that the
growers of Californian and Oregon
hops would be willing to sell part of
their crop at ridiculously low prices"
This most injurious procedure Is indie
fensible, and the more so because at
that time the condition of the English
crop was actually causing serious ap-
prehensiOn. With the campaign opened
in this way, and last seasons expert
ence before us, we can only regard the
outlook as bad for prices Of Pacifics, if
growers continue to permit their inter
ests to be so handled.
A year ago we forecast the position in
paragraph beginning as follows:
I'VE must here refer to a new de-
pressing element which has arisen dur
ing the past year. Some American
dealers have come over from the u. S.
A. and have been trying the experiment
Of selling American hops direct to Eng
lish brewers, and their easy quotations
to the trade being made a handle Of
by all brewers against the English hop
merchants, the latter have been COM
PEELED to retaliate on the market by
bearing down prices still lower in order
to compete, and in some cases even to
undercut their new opponents. The
English merchants have at present the
brewers trade entirely in their own
hands, both for home and foreign hops
and declare their intention of retaining
it, come what may. Meanwhile the
hops which are thus made a bone Of