Banner year for beekeepers

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

It’s shaping up to be a sweet year for Saskatchewan’s beekeepers.

The harvest is now wrapping up on what has been a good year for both honey production and price.

Tim Wendell, the President of the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association, said most producers are pleased with the honey crop this year.

“I think the year went pretty well,” Wendell said. “We had an early spring for a change. We had pollen coming in early April and the bees went full speed ahead pretty much since then. It’s been a pretty good year all in all.”

Wendell indicated that Saskatchewan has over 130 commercial beekeepers (beekeepers with more than 300 colonies) and another 1,000 beekeepers who are “hobbyists.”

That adds up to a lot of honey.

While Wendell did not have figures for Saskatchewan, he said that Canadian beekeepers produce between 70 to 75 million pounds of the sweet stuff annually. Of that total, 50 to 55 million pounds are consumed domestically, and the balance is exported.

Increased production is just one aspect of a banner year for beekeepers. Price is the other component, and Wendell said things are looking good there, too.

“It’s inching up a little bit. Producers are fairly optimistic there are a number of things that are pointing to an increase in price, including a shortage of crop in some of the places in the U.S. and some of the other things happening around the globe,” explained Wendell.

For example, yields are down in Argentina and China, the latter being a key competitor.

Wendell said honey from China has cut into Canada’s domestic market in the past, sometimes by being blended with more expensive, higher quality Canadian honey.

“It’s a bit of disservice to the industry when a packer has built a reputation on Canadian honey, and then starts substituting cheaper foreign honey and selling it on the reputation that he’s built with Canadian honey,” he stated. “It’s a disservice to producers, and I think it’s really a disservice to the consumer.”

However, Wendell is optimistic that an even better year is on the way.

“I think most beekeepers in Saskatchewan are happy with the way the year has gone,” he said. “I hope we go into the winter with our colonies strong and disease-free, and next year gives us another good year, and the price continues to move in a positive direction.”

You can learn more about the beekeeping industry in Saskatchewan at www.saskatchewanbeekeepers.ca.

For more information, contact:

Tim Wendell, President
Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association
Phone: (306) 742-4363
e-mail: tim@wendell.ca
Website: www.saskatchewanbeekeepers.ca