The Dream that was not: Hops Growing in Galicia, 1914-81

Abstract

Hops growing gave agricultural and industrial dynamism to certain areas of the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula and, particularly, to the northeast of the province of A Coruña in the central decades of the 20th century.The main aim of this article is to analyse the origins and causes of the development of this sector, as well as its decline in the main hop-growing area in Galicia (Betanzos;A Coruña). The main results show an initial success that could not be sustained in the long term due to the fragility of the production model, which was based on small family farms and abundant labour. Likewise, within the autarkic economic framework, regulated prices were initially favourable, but they were not adapted over time to the increase of production costs, which deteriorated profitability and contributed to the sectoral decline.