Canadian beekeepers appear poised for another year of high prices for their crop.
Honey prices recently have been hovering at $2.15-$2.25 per pound, more than double what they were at this time last year.
The industry consensus is that prices in 2003 should stay at about $2 per lb., said Don Dixon, Manitoba provincial apiarist.
While he’s not ruling out the possibility that they could go lower, Dixon and Canadian Honey Council president Wink Howland say current circumstances point to continued good prices.
“I haven’t heard of any sales for several months that were under $2,” said Howland, who is also treasurer for the Saskatchewan Beekeepers’ Association.
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“The main thing that’s driving it is the contamination of Chinese honey with chloramphenicol.”
China is a major competitor in the global honey market. However, North American imports of Chinese honey have dwindled over the past year due to concerns about honey from that country being tainted with an antibiotic banned from use in food-producing animals because of its potential health risk to consumers.
Howland said it appears unlikely that China will be able to resolve that problem within the year.
The bulk of Canada’s honey goes to the United States. Another competitor for that market is Argentina. While a bumper honey crop from that country could dampen prices, Dixon said expectations are for an average crop.
Meanwhile, U.S. honey producers are continuing to grapple with a continuing decline in their production, a trend that has been going on for several years. Dixon and Howland said the decline is due to diseases and insect parasites in American bee colonies.
That trend adds to the anticipation of strong honey prices through 2003.
Two years ago, it was estimated in Saskatchewan that the break-even price for honey was 75 cents per lb.
With prices running at triple that amount, optimism in the beekeeping industry is keen. There’s an interest in expanding production this year, particularly among existing producers, Howland and Dixon said.
Canada’s prairie provinces typically account for about 60 percent of the country’s honey production.
Last year Canada produced 73 million lb. of honey, which was below the long-term average of 79 million lb., according to Dixon. Drought was a factor in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the two leading honey-producing provinces.
