Tropical innovation: Coppe leads project that could reposition Brazil in the hop market

Coppe/UFRJ researchers are leading a project with the potential to profoundly transform the hop production chain in Brazil and position the country as a global reference among tropical climate regions in the production and supply of this strategic raw material.

Hops are a plant whose flowers, called “cones,” are essential for beer production, rendering the beverage bitterness, aroma and stability. But its value goes far beyond that: its natural compounds also have applications in the food, ethanol, cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors, significantly expanding its economic and industrial potential.

Developed at Coppe’s Advanced Center for Sustainability, Local Ecosystems and Governance (Casulo), the project aims to replicate, in the case of hops, what Brazil has already achieved with crops such as soybeans and wheat: adapt production to the national environment, master the technologies, and achieve scale with international competitiveness.

“We are talking about structuring a new production chain in the country, integrating everything from cultivation with precision agriculture to industrial processing and quality control in our own laboratory,” explains the project coordinator, Professor Amanda Xavier, from Coppe’s Industrial Engineering Program, to which Casulo is linked.

Casulo/Coppe already maintains a partnership with the Brazilian Association of Hop Producers (Aprolúpulo), a collaboration that resulted in the 2024 Brazilian Hop Map, published in March 2026, a strategic document to guide research, public policies and investments in the chain.

The initiative also includes the production of hop extracts, high-value-added inputs obtained through advanced CO₂ extraction technology, capable of serving different industrial segments with standardization, traceability and large-scale supply. “With precision agriculture and laboratory control, we can offer standardized extracts that meet the needs of both craft breweries and the pharmaceutical industry,” says Amanda Xavier.

Location: a strategic decision that can redefine a sector

More than an operational choice, defining where the project will be implemented has become a strategic decision with a direct impact on regional development and the formation of a new economic hub in the country.

The selected region will not only receive investments and infrastructure, but will also concentrate technical knowledge, innovation and productive articulation — factors that historically transform territories into national references.

“The publication of the Brazilian Hop Map is already beginning to guide investment decisions and local policies. We will now have data to plan cultivation locations, infrastructure demands, and technical training initiatives. In addition, the map helps us prioritize research for genetic improvement and the development of post-harvest protocols suitable for the tropical climate,” adds the Coppe professor.

As with other Brazilian agricultural supply chains, location choice can be the starting point for consolidating a complete ecosystem, connecting production, industry, research, and the market. In practice, this represents a concrete opportunity to induce regional development, generate skilled jobs and attract new businesses.

Tropical competitive advantage

Today, most of the hops consumed in Brazil are imported, mainly from cold climate regions, where there is only one annual harvest due to light and temperature conditions.

However, recent advances show that Brazil can transform its climatic characteristics into a competitive advantage. With proper management and the use of technologies such as supplemental lighting, it is possible to achieve up to 2.5 harvests per year — a significant gain in productivity compared to traditional producing countries.

The numbers highlight the scale of the opportunity. In 2024, world hop production was around 114,000 tons. During the same period, Brazil produced only 81 tons, compared to a domestic demand of approximately 7,000 tons — a market estimated at around R$ 878 million per year. This means that the country produces only 1.11% of what it consumes, revealing a significant dependence on imports and ample room for growth.

In this context, the decision regarding the project’s location becomes even more relevant: it can accelerate import substitution, strengthen the national industry and integrate Brazil into a global value chain with higher added value.

Science in network to accelerate results

Led by the Casulo Coppe team, the project advances through a broad national research network — with HorgBio (Unesp-Botucatu), the Plant Physiology Laboratory (Uesc), the Ornamental Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory (Esalq/USP), and the Fruit Growing Laboratory of CAV (Udesc Lages) — and with international partnerships that expand its technical and market reach. In terms of internationalization, Casulo has established strategic connections with Belgium through a partnership with the Université de Mons, a country recognized for its ancient brewing tradition and consolidated production chains. This partnership unfolds into applied research within the Brussels Beer Project ecosystem — a network operating in Brazil, Belgium, Scotland, Portugal and England — strengthening the exchange of technologies, training and integration between local and international contexts.

“The strength of the project lies in the integration of skills: from the best agronomic knowledge to industrial processing. This network accelerates technological maturation and reduces risks for producers. Our goal is to make protocols and technologies publicly available so that small and medium-sized producers can benefit quickly, with real pathways for the competitive insertion of Brazilian hops into global markets,” concludes Amanda Xavier.