Bee real: Honey industry faces death loss, overwhelming imports
The beekeeping industry has dealt with crippling bee death loss this year, with commercial apiaries losing on average 62% of their bees, while hobbyist beekeepers lost around 50% according to the Honey Bee Health Coalition. Economic losses from this widespread mortality are estimated to total around $634.7 million. The number of honeybees in the U.S. fell by almost half in 2023 and beekeepers and scientists still don’t know what is causing this massive die-off. “People are experiencing very, very high loss numbers in the industry and there’s a lot of uncertainty as to why this is happening,” said Alan Timm, a beekeeper with working interest in the Commercial Bee Supply and owner of T2 Honey Company in southwest North Dakota. From weather to viruses to pests to insecticide use, these mysterious fatalities are making a difficult business even harder to manage. Timm, who’s been involved in the beekeeping industry for several decades, has seen firsthand how impactful these losses are, but also how hard fellow his beekeepers are working to protect these bees. “The one thing I don’t think [the cause is] is the mismanagement of beekeepers. They’re putting their best foot forward.” Despite their best efforts, the decline of the United States’ domestic honeybee population is increasing at an alarming rate.
Their decline doesn’t bode well for non-apiculturalists, either. These little insects are essential to the agriculture industry on the whole. It’s estimated that one in every three bites of food consumed in the U.S. is directly related to a beehive, while another one in three is indirectly connected to their activities. According to the USDA, honeybees pollinate over 130 different crops worth $23 billion each year. Aside from what humans consume directly, bees also pollinate crops utilized as livestock feed and for industrial use. In light of their importance to nearly every industry in the U.S., researchers are working overtime to figure out what’s causing this population decline.
Unfortunately, the bee industry faces more challenges than just increased death loss. Honey imports have dealt heavy blows to the production side of the industry. “Marketing and being able to sell product has been challenging,” said Timm. Domestic beekeepers face intense competition on an international level. The US consumes around 600 million pounds of honey per year, but American beekeepers only produce 120-150 million pounds. That leaves a lot of room for foreign producers (who aren’t always subject to the same standards as American producers) to take up space in the market. One of the largest concerns about this international competition is that foreign nations don’t enforce the same standards the U.S. government imposes on its apiarists. In the United States, it’s illegal to sell adulterated honey. “Adulterated” means: mixed with fillers such as high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar syrup, and even water to increase bulk while lowering the cost of production. While illegal, honey adulteration is a far from uncommon practice on the global scene. Honey testing isn’t always reliable, and fraudulent packers have refined their methods of adulteration to be undetectable in some cases, said Timm. Due to the sheer volume of honey imports, some of the incoming honey isn’t tested at all, he said.
According to Food Business News, “The American Honey Producers Association, Bruce, SD, and Sioux Honey Association, Sioux City, Iowa, petitioned the DOC in April 2021, alleging Argentina, Brazil, India, Ukraine and Vietnam were shipping honey to the United States at less-than-fair value that was injurious to US honey producers. The DOC initiated anti-dumping investigations a month later.
The August, 2024 Food Business News story went on to say, “Final determinations were issued by the DOC and the International Trade Commission in the spring of 2022, with findings in favor of the US plaintiffs against exporters in Argentina, Brazil, India and Vietnam. The four countries are the largest honey exporters, accounting for about 80% of US honey imports. Ukraine was not included. Anti-dumping duties of 5.52% to 83.72% were imposed on companies from the four countries on June 1, 2022, and are effective for five years, pending other actions.”
Honey imports accounted for about 80 % of total US honey used in 2023, according to USDA data. India has been the major exporter of honey to the United States since 2021, accounting for 39% of total imports in 2023, followed by Argentina (23%), Brazil (11%) and Vietnam (6%), with about 70 other countries making up the remaining 21%, according to Food Business News.
“It’s very frustrating to compete with the imported honey,” said Timm. “When they’re buying it at the dock for a dollar per pound less than our cost of production, it’s a very tough industry.” While addressing the risks of imported honey, Timm also emphasizes the benefits of American honey. U.S. producers are held to strict standards regarding honey production that international producers aren’t always subject to. Additionally, there are many established benefits of consuming honey produced locally. While all (pure) honey has benefits such as antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, some studies have shown that consuming honey produced within 50 miles of where you live can reduce symptoms of hay fever.
In addition to the various challenges facing the bee industry, one of the largest obstacles beekeepers face is a lack of consumer education. “I don’t know that people recognize the value of a beehive,” said Timm. Despite the importance of honeybees to the economy and the agriculture industry, most people simply think of these insects in their relation to honey production or their stinging defense mechanism. These little bugs do a lot to support humanity, and they and their keepers need support in return. It’s a collaborative effort between consumers, beekeepers, and the farmers, ranchers, and landowners who work in unison to allow the bees to do what they do best. It all starts with good foraging and excellent cropland and rangeland management thanks to farmers and ranchers and ends with consumers making informed choices to support American beekeepers. “We thank and we do appreciate anybody that allows us to place beehives on their land and we’re grateful for all of our landowners and the people that are looking out for the industry. If you are buying and consuming honey, just be sure to read the label on it. Try to buy something that’s a product of the US and really focus on what you’re buying there and knowing what you’re getting.”
This winter, billions of honeybees have made their annual migration from the northern U.S. to warmer states. A common practice among commercial beekeepers is to winter their bees in the south and the west where they provide valuable pollination services to crop farms. For many fruit and nut farms, the function these insects serve is essential to their production systems. From this need arose the partnership between commercial beekeepers and farmers. Timm is well-versed in this partnership. “We provide the bees and they provide the good farming and ranching practices,” he said. His beehives are preparing for transport from where they’ve spent the last few months pollinating almond trees in California to their later winter homes in Texas. But this year, fewer bees than usual will be making the migration.
Bees work around a hive packed with comb and honey.image-3
Bees go about their daily work.image-2
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