2024 honey harvest down 40% with 60% excess water in September, harvesting work gets tougher in France

Published 2024년 10월 8일

Tridge summary

In 2024, French beekeeping faced challenges due to adverse weather conditions, including late frosts, rain, cold, and wind, leading to uneven production and a disappointing honey harvest. The climate upheaval has been impacting the sector for 15 years, with some harvests, such as spring honey and honeydew, being particularly affected. Despite these challenges, the chestnut and lavender honey harvests were satisfactory. Due to the unpredictable nature of honey production, France often relies on imports to meet its consumption demands, importing nearly 30,000 tons of low-cost honey annually. The Union de l'Apiculture (Unaf) is calling for public aid to support beekeeping operations that have been weakened by these challenges.

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Original content

"Unlike previous years marked by recurring droughts, it was the late frosts, periods of rain, cold and wind that seriously handicapped French beekeeping in 2024," notes Unaf in its estimate, based on feedback from its departmental unions. "The climate upheaval and its various facets, felt by beekeepers for a good fifteen years, is omnipresent," underlines the sector's organization, which in recent years has experienced uneven production. After a favorable start to 2024, the bad weather throughout the spring "did not allow bees to take advantage of the blooms to forage for nectar and pollen," forcing many beekeepers to provide food supplements to the colonies so that they do not starve, explains Unaf. Ultimately, at the end of June and beginning of July, a few fine days allowed for fairly decent harvests, "saving the season from a predicted disaster", particularly in the South and South-West. Concerning the type of honey, spring harvests such as rapeseed, as well as rosemary, thyme ...

Source: TerreNet