Terrible weather conditions around the globe are threatening bee colonies and pushing up the price of honey.
After a disastrous season last summer - when honey yields in England fell by 70% to an average of eight pounds of honey per colony - UK beekeepers are holding their breath to see if their colonies have made it through the winter. “Normally by now, bees would have been out regularly foraging for nectar and pollen,” said Tim Lovett, director of public affairs at the British Beekeepers Association. However, the cold, wet weather this year meant this had not yet happened, he added.
With foraging out of the question, bee colonies were starting to run low on the honey stores they need to survive during the winter, Lovett said. “Beekeepers have had to step in to feed them with fondant.”
Basmati prices soar electricity is a key faller
Basmati prices have soared following a drop in production in the two largest producing countries, India and Pakistan, in 2012, as growers reduced plantings. At £702/t, Pakistani basmati is now nearly 50% more expensive than a year ago and up 2.9% month-on-month.
Electricity in the UK remains significantly more expensive year-on-year because of the unusually cold winter, but prices have started to ease over the past four weeks, making electricity a key faller. At £59.27/MHW, prices are 7.4% down month-on-month but up 26.8.% on this time last year.
Cocoa powder also remains a resolute faller as the market continues to readjust from the unusually high prices of mid-2011, falling 5.3% over the past month to £1,974/t.
To make matters worse, last year’s unusually wet summer could have a knock-on effect on this year’s honey harvest, he added. “We may find that queens raised last year were poorly mated and, as a consequence, may fail early.”
These supply problems are matched by problems in other parts of the world. Global honey supplies were already “very tight” in 2012 because of bad weather, such as drought in the US and South America, said Mintec analyst Abigail Green. “Colony collapse disorder remains a big problem, especially in the US,” she added. “Coupled with the effects of disease and very cold weather over the winter, some beekeepers in February 2013 were reporting a 20% to 80% loss of colonies.”
At the same time, demand for honey remained high, pushing up prices, Green said. Wholesale prices for Spanish honey - a good indicator for EU honey prices - have already risen by 13.4% year-on-year, to £2,319/t. This could rise far higher if the weather does not play ball in the coming weeks.
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