This summer’s honey campaign will end in disaster, as neither the high temperatures nor the competition on the shelves of the Asian syrup supermarket are making their job any easier. Juanjo Ribes, Beekeeping delegate of Unió Llauradora in Castellón, explains: “There are fewer flocks, certainly because the bee has slowed down its reproduction due to drought and high temperatures. Because they see that if they prepare new ones, they will not have a future. He adds that it’s largely due to a number of factors. Add two bad years and this 2023 lack of rain and its effects have increased. What affects the total bankruptcy of the unprepared. In my case, fortunately or unfortunately, I have other jobs in case I fail in beekeeping.
Climate and competition
“It’s not raining and there’s a huge drought, and for the bees to pollinate, it has to rain and the flowers have to come out,” Ribes continued. The second item said, “Poor quality honey farms or syrups from abroad compared to the Spanish delicacy (sugar boiled with rice, like in Asia, is sold for only 1.30 euros)”.
There will be “zero” summer honey in this campaign. “There is very little rosemary honey and very little, except for something in Maestrat de Castelló, infused with acorns, lavender, nothing,” Ribes comments. As for orange honey, “it should have been a good campaign, but everything is so dry that we don’t know where to take the bees and we need to leave some spare honey for the bees to spend the summer.”
“Take less to survive”
“This summer, the beekeeper who takes all the honey in the hive is willing to bloom. Because in Teruel, for example, if there are other blooming thyme, they are taken to this region in transhumance and they do not suffer. But with one cigarette, the whole of Aragon is illuminated, so there is no other choice. You can get 30-40% of honey at most; Then help them with water and whatever is necessary,” said the expert. “If you need to lose four kilos, you will lose two kilos so that the bees can live.”
Honey production in Castellón this 2023 is estimated to be half that of last year. «In 2022, there was already half a harvest compared to normal, because there were rainy, cold days and it did not allow us to work. This year it’s the opposite. We dried all of Spain like an oven. We will go down to the minimum,” said the beekeeper.
Abandonment due to low profitability: “They are considering quitting everything in Vila-real or Almassora”
- The beekeeping industry employs around 400 farmers in Castellón, according to data from Unió Llauradora, but that’s in 2023 “half the census, about 200, are considering leaving it, and if they don’t it will be a miracle. “If drought and prices continue to squeeze us, we will perish,” said Juanjo Ribes of the group in question.
- He adds, “If the beekeeper cannot make an annual profit, he either sells the bees or leaves them alone… If the person who dedicates himself only to beekeeping goes bankrupt and they buy from us at a price below production, it’s a tender,” he adds. “I know colleagues from Les Alqueries, Vila-real, Almassora, Almenara and the province of Valencia who sell everything because they can’t make rosemary or orange honey – in the middle of the orange campaign. They were disappointed and up to their throats at the expense. They sold the truck, the beehives, the tools and are leaving the farm. In 2022, it was seen that the bull had arrived. “It was very hot and many bees died, and the beekeeper had no resources to deal with these losses,” he says.
How much is a kilo?
In terms of prices for the representative of the Union, a kilo of good honey should cost from 10 to 12 euros; but about 6 or 7 euros; and the merchant buys at 4 and 5; in case of imports from other countries, it falls to 3.40 euros, which is “poor quality and below the cost”. They are forcing us to destroy. The perfect price storm combined with the absence of rain.”
What solutions can there be to save the industry? “Well, it could be clear and simple labeling. In order not to mislead the consumer. We bought a jar of honey and tested it and it was only 10% honey, 90% rice syrup. When we have good professionals in Spain and we also pollinate the botanicals of the Mediterranean mountains, it is more common than it appears with imported products,” he emphasized.
Annual consumption
According to a study of Kelbet’s shopping cart, Castellón consumes about 40 kilos of honey every hour he spends. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) Family Budget Survey, an average of 1.7 kilos of jam, jam and honey per person per year is consumed, which equals 600 grams of honey. The latest report from the Ministry of Agriculture shows the existence of around 81,800 beehives in the province of Castellón and estimates an annual extraction of 1,390 tons in recent years.