Canadian beekeepers are considering a trade challenge against imports of Chinese honey, alleging it is being dumped on the market at below the cost of production.
“We’re likely going to pursue an anti-dumping complaint,” said Heather Clay, national co-ordinator for the Canadian Honey Council.
“We’re trying to right now gauge the support from beekeepers. Not just moral support for the idea, but financial, because it’s quite expensive to pursue this.”
A couple of years ago, Canadian beekeepers were selling honey for more than $2 per pound but Clay said prices for bulk honey during the past several months have fallen to the point where producers cannot cover their costs.
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“It’ll be driving people out of the business. We’ll see beekeepers leaving the business. It’s already happened.”
Canadian honey prices were buoyed a couple of years ago when the United States imposed an anti-dumping tariff on imports of Chinese honey. The U.S. is an important buyer of Canadian product.
China also lost important markets in Europe after shipments of its honey were found to contain traces of a prohibited antibiotic, resulting in the accumulation of a large surplus of honey in China.
However, Clay said Chinese honey exporters have found ways to circumvent the U.S. anti-dumping tariff and eliminate traces of the banned antibiotic.
“Some of it is called ultra-filtered honey and that’s been a real concern because we don’t believe it’s real honey,” Clay said.
“It’s clean as far as residues but it’s been altered and we just look at it as a sweetener.”
Clay said there is strong support among Canadian beekeepers for a trade action, which could be launched as early as this fall, not only against China but also other countries where there is evidence of dumping.
“It would be against any country dumping subsidized honey into markets at below cost of production,” she said.
“We really think this is a step toward helping push the price back to where it needs to be.”
Manitoba Agriculture provincial apiarist Rheal Lefreniere said prices for bulk honey began to nosedive late last year and bottomed during the spring at close to 70 cents per lb. Since then prices have stayed at around 70 to 80 cents per lb.
The Chinese honey surplus is gradually being used up, Lafreniere said, but it is difficult to predict how much longer it will continue weighing on honey prices.
“There may be a lot more out there. The whole world market price is down because of Chinese honey.”
