Global Trade and National Production of Honey

Honey is an internationally traded foodstuff that, when produced organically, is harvested in an artisan fashion directly from bees. Bees and a few other insects use sugary floral nectars to naturally produce honey. Bees store this sweet and viscous food in honeycombs, which can then be collected for human consumption. Honey can be harvested either from wild bee colonies or from domesticated beehives, through beekeeping. Consumed by humans throughout the last eight thousand years, honey is a natural sweetener, with an average of 64 calories per tablespoon. However, in recent decades, as honey has become a highly sought out commercial product, the processing and commercializing of honey has adversely affected the quality of the finalized product available to consumers. Therefore, the niche market for organic and natural honey has been steadily growing, as consumers demand a high quality product.

Global Trade and National Production of Honey

During 2016, global imports of honey totaled US$1.9 billion, while global exports of honey accounted for US$1.96 billion. Furthermore, that same year, the world’s largest exporters of honey were China, representing 14% or US$277 million of global exports, and New Zealand, totaling 11% or US$206 million. Meanwhile, in 2016, the world’s largest importers of honey were the United States, accounting for 22% or US$419 million of all international imports, as well as Germany, representing 14% or US$216 million. On continental terms, Europe is the world’s largest trader of honey, accounting for 36% of global exports and 52% of all imports during 2016.

In the specific case of the United States, honey production in farms with five colonies or more totaled 148 million pounds in 2017. Likewise, small honey operations with less than five colonies accounted for 599.000 pounds of honey produced during 2017. That same year, the United States counted an aggregate of almost 2.7 million honey-producing colonies, with an average yield per colony of 58 pounds in 2016 and a slightly less 55 pounds in 2017. Simultaneously, the price of raw honey directly from farms in the United States increased from almost 212 cents per pound in 2016 to 215 cents on average during 2017. In terms of state-by-state production, the largest producers of honey in 2016 were North Dakota, yielding 33.670 pounds, and South Dakota, with 14.535 pounds of honey produced.

The United States also imported a large amount of honey during 2016. That same year, the main source of honey imports into the United States were Argentina (US$75 million), Brazil (US$73 million), and Vietnam (US$69 million). In this regard, it is important to mention that some of China’s honey is packaged and shipped through Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam. Lastly, the largest destination for honey exports from the United States during 2016 was Canada, representing 30% or US$7.5 million of all US honey exports.

(Read more about Strategic Trade between the United States and China)