The Struggle for the Puyallup Hop Market
As global buyers shun local crops, growers grapple with the high cost of quality and a market that refuses to pay.
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The hop market in Puyallup remains in a state of stagnation, with buyers reporting that orders do not coincide with the growers' prices. E. Meeker & Co. reports that many growers are chagrined to find no one cares to become the possessor of a crop that was raised 'backward.' Mr. Meeker emphasizes that the few who found success in the London market achieved it through three things: absence of vermin, thorough curing, and immediate baling. Chris Kincaid of Sumner recently sold his 28-ton crop to Uhlman Bros. for 20 cents per pound—less than he had hoped, but still profitable. The broader market for hops remains difficult, as buyers struggle to justify prices for local products that don't meet international standards.
“Many growers at the beginning of the season imagine they know a better way themselves, and insist on pursuing it. They are confident of success, and when it comes time to put their wares upon the market they are very much chagrined to find that no one cares much to become the possessor of a crop that was raised backward.”
Puyallup was once the 'Hop Center of the World,' but boom-and-bust cycles defined the industry in the 1890s. Today, those same fields are largely urbanized, reflecting how Seattle’s suburban growth has continuously swallowed its own agricultural past.
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