Honey
Overview
As a primary pollinator, bees make a critical contribution to global biodiversity and food security. In the last decades, bee populations have declined dramatically. Responsible beekeeping can be part of the solution.
Beekeeping is seldom a person’s sole source of income. Because it requires relatively small investment of time and resources, beekeeping is widely encouraged by development agencies as a way to diversify income, improve nutrition, and increase pollination, which in turn increases local crop yields.
Rising worldwide demand for honey has fuelled fraud. Roughly a third of all “honey” has been adulterated. The distribution of value within honey supply chains is often very inequitable, with fraudsters, international traders and local buyers collecting a lion’s share.
The salient issues in the honey sector (in the order of saliency):
- Living Income
Many beekeepers face a shortage of local buyers and lack pricing information that could help them negotiate higher prices. Absconding of bees and natural disasters have left many vulnerable beekeepers financially devastated.
- Water & Biodiversity
Concerns around the treatment of bees, especially in industrial-scale beekeeping, include excessive honey extraction, the killing of hives after the season, and the selection of non-native bee species.
- Health
Beekeepers face health risks related to bee, tick and other insect exposure.
- Gender rights
Women beekeepers have a poorer access to hives, credit, training and information. Beekeeper cooperatives are seldom lead by women.
- More information on risks in honey
Root causes
Climate change: Shifting rainfall patterns and climate conditions make flowering periods and pest outbreaks erratic, and creates challenges for small-scale honey producers. Climate change and the overapplication of pesticides are also some of the likely drivers of global pollinator loss.
Fraudulent activities: Beekeepers lose hundreds of millions of dollars every year, due to fraudulent activities in the honey supply chain. A significant portion of honey is altered by adding or removing elements like sugar, or smuggled into market areas to avoid tariff payments.
Background data on honey (*Global Volume / **Fairtrade Volume)
Largest producer countries*
- China (25.9%)
- Turkey (5.9%)
- Iran (4.5%)
- Argentina (4.2%)
- Ukraine (3.8%)
- Others (55.7%)
Dominant production model*
of beekeepers in Mexico are low-income farmers who see beekeeping as a means of boosting their income
Fairtrade certified producer organisations**
October 2022
Fairtrade certifiable production**
metric tonnes, 2020
Number of Fairtrade certified small-scale producers**
2020
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