Honey International Packers Association

About 1.2 million tonnes of honey are produced every year and about 400,000 tonnes of this total are traded internationally. The major importing regions are the EU, Japan, and the USA. There are many exporting countries among which the most important are Argentina, China and Mexico. Most of this honey is exported in bulk in 300 kg drums and put into retail packs in the country of sale to the consumer. Honey is considered by all consumers to be natural and pure. It has been a traditional medicine in China, the Ayurvedic medicine of India, and in Europe for a very long time. This makes the quality of the honey paramount. The risk to the reputation of honey by the presence of contaminants or added syrups is very high. We must protect that reputation at all costs.

The value of beekeeping to agriculture via pollination is probably about twenty times the value of any honey produced. Bees are also extremely important to biodiversity. The man-made disaster of loss of species is the worst since the age of the dinosaurs. Beekeeping must be promoted wherever possible for the benefit of the environment as well as agriculture. The Honey international Packers Association (HIPA) intends to provide advice to governments in the development of national agricultural policy so that there is a full awareness of the importance of beekeeping.

Formation of the HIPA

The packers are those most directly in the firing line from consumers and supermarkets if there is any suspicion about the quality of the honey. Honey is quite an uncertain crop due to the effects of the weather on the behaviour of bees and the location of bee flora. It has therefore been decided to form HIPA with three main objectives, to ensure the continuity of the honey supply, to ensure the quality of the honey supply and to pursue these two objectives by beekeeper training worldwide. The Association is formed in such a way that it can seek charity funding to finance these objectives.

Continuity of the honey supply

Disappearance of a product from a market is a disaster for that product. Having to relaunch it and redevelop the market is very difficult and the original market position may never be regained. Thus it is very important for the packers in the major importing regions to be able to seek supplies from many sources. An important training function will be to help beekeeping co-operatives, large commercial beekeepers and associations to achieve the final step to 20 tonne container loads for export and to ensure the administrative infrastructure to permit this, such as certificates from the relevant government departments.

Quality of the honey supply

Honey must comply with the Codex Alimentarius definition. This means that the bees must be given time to seal the combs with wax before the honey is extracted, ensure that if the bees have to be fed sugar, none of the sugar syrup contaminates the honey, and ensure that the honey is not adulterated in any other way with sugar syrups. Honey must not be ultrafiltered.

In addition, honey must contain no residues of antibiotics, anti-bacterials such as sulphonamides, other drugs or toxic metals. Thus beekeepers must be highly trained in apicultural techniques that enable them to be commercially successful without using any chemicals.

Training of beekeepers

HIPA is dedicated to the extensive training of beekeepers so that they can produce pure and natural honey at a commercially viable price and sell to packers and exporters a product that is acceptable in all markets of the world. This training must include good apicultural practice, disease control by acceptable means, formation of co-operatives and associations, good management practices, selling and market development. HIPA will work with governments to ensure the infrastructure provides adequate support to beekeepers. Organisations such as Bees for Development will be contracted by HIPA to carry out this training. The system developed in Australia, BQual, has very generously been made available to HIPA and will be used to support trainers and beekeepers, initially in exporting countries.

Peter Martin, HIPA Chairman