44
ARGENTINA
year. Last year (1986) was exceptionally good and most colonies produced excellent honey crops. Honeybees, of course, are also important for pollinating some plants and without them we could not grow cucumbers, squash, pumpkins or melons. Concern about an apparent surplus of Bermuda honey last fall prompted the drafting of a questionnaire to try to quantify the supply situation as well as gather ideas on a range of topics, including how to deal with any surplus honey. The response rate was not as high as had hoped but, nevertheless, some important information emerged. A detailed report was presented at the May meeting of the Bermuda Beekeepers Association. What follows is a brief
Sweet success — High-quality honey 6000kg of it daily — are now being processed in a plant run by young people in Marull, in Argentina’s Cordoba Province. The plant was built as part of an apiculture project financed through the IDB’s Small Projects Program and carried out by the Federation of Cooperative Farm Youth Centers of Sancor. It went into full production in April. The project also includes the provision of credits to over 200 young, lowincome farmers in the provinces of Santa Fé, Cérdoba and Entre Rios to
establish
chambers.
apiaries
and_
avi
|
extraction
summary.
Among the respondents, unsold honey ranged from zero to one-third of their harvest. The total amount of unsold honey in storage at this time (June) is approximately 515 gallons. This Tepresents perhaps less than one quarter of the total harvested crop. Honey use follows this pattern: beekeepers with just one or two hives generally report keeping their honey for private use and using it for gifts. Most beekeepers who do sell their honey, sell it to friends and neighbours. Only a few
(IDB News, July 1987)
BERMUDA Beekeeping will never rival tourism as Bermuda’s largest industry, but it is an important source of pleasure and extra income for some 30-35 Bermudians, and there are over 500 colonies on the island. Each is capable of producing approximately 8-12 gallons of honey a
Table 1: Beekeeping in Bermuda
- Cost Estimates
First Year Expenditures
|
hive $
Hive, frames, etc Equipment
Extractor Jars, labels
Labour (12 hrs/hive @ $15/hr)
10
hives $
Subsequent years | hive 10 hives $
275 150 250 35
2,750
(180)
(1,800)
890
5,350
265
2,650
360
3,600
360
3,600
50
500
150
300 350
35
(180)
350
(1,800)
Return Honey (10 gal/hive = 120lb @ $3/Ib)
Profit 'Free' labour
supply supermarkets. One beekeeper sells direct to the public at a roadside stand. None reported supplying gift shops and none advertise except by word of mouth. A beekeepers’ costs average $50 per hive per year after the initial start-up costs for equipment. New equipment for one hive (2 hive bodies, 4 shallow supers, frames, foundation, bottom board and inner and outer covers) costs $275. In addition, the beginner needs a bee suit, veil, gloves, smoker, hive tool, etc — another $150-$200. Honey extractors are $250 and up. Jars and labels can run up to $35 per year per hive. Labour requirements average 10-15 hours per hive per year. Though expenditures and yield both vary from year to year, Table 1 presents the general economics of beekeeping in Bermuda. The remainder of the questionnaire dealt with possible courses of action for dealing with a honey surplus. Lowering the price of Bermuda honey was unacceptable to the majority of beekeepers (60% ), even if by so doing an embargo could be imposed on the importation of honey. The current law which allows the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries to place embargoes on imported vegetables requires that the price of the locai product be comparable to imported material. Raising the import duty on imported honey from 11.2% to 22.5% was rejected by 60% as being of doubtful benefit to Bermuda beekeepers. Most would like to see it raised even more and several suggested it be raised to make imported and local honey comparable in price. There was very little interest expressed in spending more time and money on marketing local honey, though one respondent observed that our honey is “one of a very few true Bermuda products that is affordable, durable, and is underutilized as a local souvenir”. Clearly there is a surplus of local honey this year and the situation could get worse when the next crop starts to come in. There is no consensus among beekeepers about how to deal with this situation. Most are not willing to lower the price of honey and | think the brief economic analysis in Table 1 shows there are no windfall profits being made in the business. One reason for this is the cost of equipment which is unusually high due to shipping charges and a 22.5% duty. In fact, only when one ignores the beekeeper's own labour are reasonable profits being made.
The majority of beekeepers, quite naturally suppose, favour the easiest solution — that is, have Government raise the duty on imported honey so that its price is comparable to the local product. have discussed this with a representative of the Ministry of Finance, and this is |
-530
- 1,750
(-350)
(+50)
+95
+950
(+275) (+2,750)
|
