Imported honey to UK.

[Poly Hive]

Anyone know what is the total amount of honey that is imported to the UK per annum?

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

Just retreived from the net

Britons consume around 30,000 tonnes of honey a year – a figure that is rising by about 11 per cent a year – of which between 5,000 and 7,000 tonnes a year is domestically produced. This year the amount produced in the UK is expected to be barely 2,000 tonnes.

Does that help?

Regards,RAB

 

[hedgerow pete]

wow, thats a massive differance, there might be a chance that hedgerow industries could expect some massive expansion, so thats 12,000 tonnes for next years harvest, hummmmmm,

might need a bigger shed

 

[oliver90owner]

I eventually found a date for that info. Sept 2008, I think

Regards, RAB

 

[Poly Hive]

Thanks. Had a discussion at the Good Food Show about 3k of imports that an outfit claims to import. Mind you they also make some odd claims about all their honey being from the UK... no to mention they use no chemicals and so are organic... HO................HUM.... and no one on their stand knew what Varroa was....

Anyone smell a rat?

PH

 

[Heather]

And you were too polite to challenge them What an opportunity

 

[Poly Hive]

I was going to go back Heather but time slipped away and we had a load of stuff by them too.

Julie found some chocolate that she can have, excellent quality it is too!

Not to worry as they will get their comeuppance. They always do....

PH

 

[Black Comb]

Don't suppose they were from Derbyshire were they?

 

[BKF Admin]

LOL at Peter,I was about to ask the same question..

 

[jezd]

sounds like it!

 

[Poly Hive]

Grins.

PH

 

[jean]

– of which between 5,000 and 7,000 tonnes a year is domestically produced. This year the amount produced in the UK is expected to be barely 2,000 tonnes.[/I]


Regards,RAB

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
3700 4100 4100 4100 2870 3000 5000 7000 7000 tonnes

so the expected 2000 tonnes will be the worst for a long time.

1996 in France was a bad figure as well, and *coincides* with varroa resistance to tau-fluvalinate.

2000 figure any reason anyone would know of ?

2009 why this predicted drop off as well ? Varroa? Weather? Cheaper to produce somewhere else?

Which honey producers are included in these figures ?

Honey production figures are one of the ways used for quantifying ccd.

 

[Philip]

This link has some suggestions for why.

http://http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/the-great-honey-drought-924510.html

seems like it may be wise to hang on to the honey crop with the pridicted rise of 60% in price.

regards

 

[Poly Hive]

I would suggest that this year the main factor is weather.

The summer crop was pretty poor and I hear that the heather was pretty much a disaster.

PH

 

[Hombre]

Thanks. Had a discussion at the Good Food Show about 3k of imports that an outfit claims to import. Mind you they also make some odd claims about all their honey being from the UK... no to mention they use no chemicals and so are organic... HO................HUM.... and no one on their stand knew what Varroa was....

Anyone smell a rat?

I had interesting chats today too. One was very obviously aware of Varroa, He mentioned that you had dropped by. You had probably swapped notes about the vendor you refer to.

I had to congratulate the other one that, because he was selling Manuka Honey, he at least had an accent that matched the origins of his product. I believe that he said his Grandfather had been a beekeeper, suggesting that he wasn't himself. Talking about UMF and HMF, he remarked that Manuka honey that exceeded HMF values had been turned away on import to the UK as unfit. He also described a fire which had container fire that caused drums to expand dangerously and that on later inspection the UMF was up as was the HMF (through the roof). Someone else commented later that Manuka honey tasted 'cooked', so could it be that a Manuka factor of 20+ with it's dark colour is also an indicator of a HMF value that most of you would never wish your honey to reach? That gentleman was sceptical about the HMF levels in the higher UMF levels near 20+. We didn't speak about varroa.

I didn't speak to the other, bigger stall,l that appears to be the one you refer to, employing a couple of young ladies for their looks rather than their product knowledge. With two gents in suits appearing from time to time. Is the proprietor the one with or without the set?

Hope you enjoyed the show and still have some money left.

 

[Poly Hive]

We left with some excellent malts, and some speciality foods that Julie has been pining for that she can eat.

What was obvious to us, was that here was a need for a speciality foods section, so that those with dietry needs and those catering for them could get together more easily.

The demand is there as we talked to a pudding vendor and two days of stock for non dairy puddings had gone in under three hours and it was obvious that they were truly taken aback at this.

Had a word with the Cream Cutie lady who was turned down by the Dragons and she regrets that that not a whit, in fact she has launched another two lines and is cooking with gas. More power to her.

PH