Opinion

Pest Threat to Australia’s Rising Honey Exports in 2022

Infused Honey
Honey
Australia
Market & Price Trends
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Despite producing high quality honey, Australia has only a 10% share of the global honey exports and is the 15th largest honey exporter in the world. The country’s low exports are due to the tariffs imposed by large markets in the European Union, South Korea, Japan, China, and China, which make importing Australian honey less competitive when considering the net price. In the first five months of 2022, Australia exported 2.5 thousand mt of honey, a YoY increase of 40% in parallel with increasing global demand. The trend, however, seems to be ending soon as the bee industry is currently struggling with the varroa mite, a parasite with the ability to destroy an entire colony of honey bees. Bee farmers are burning down hives to curtail the spread of the parasite, which will eventually result in lower honey production and subsequently lower exports.

Australia’s honey industry has been thriving in the global market for the past few years as the country offers fruity and high-quality honey. In addition to its popularity in the global market, the honey bee industry is critical to Australia’s agricultural ecosystem and economy. Bees are the main workers of the industry, producing honey and wax and pollinating crops. As of 2021, the industry was worth more than USD 14 billion annually, with an average production hovering around 37 thousand tons. Despite high production volumes and their exceptional flavor, the country exports only 10% of its honey overseas, making it the 15th largest honey exporting country in the world. This is primarily due to the tariffs imposed by importing countries on honey exported from Australia. The tariffs imposed by large markets in the European Union, South Korea, Japan, China and China make importing Australian honey less competitive in terms of net price.

In 2021, Australia exported 5 thousand mt of honey, which was worth about USD 45 million, a YoY increase of 20% in volume and about 7% in value. The main buyers of Australian honey in 2021 were the United States of America, Indonesia, Singapore, Canada, and Japan. The industry is performing relatively well compared to the previous years as the volume of exports has picked up in the first 5 months of 2022. The country exported 2.5 thousand mt of honey between January and May 2022, which is a YoY increase of 40% from the 1.5 thousand mt of honey exported during the same period in 2021. With the current export volumes, the beekeepers had anticipated that the year 2022 would be a buzzing one for the industry.

Australia Honey Exports, January 2022 - May 2022

Source: ITC TradeMap. HS Code: 0409 Natural honey

On the contrary, the scare of the varroa mite, which is a parasite with the ability to destroy an entire colony of honey bees, has spread across Australia. In order to mitigate this risk, millions of bees have been destroyed to help contain the spread. The pest was first identified in the New South Wales state, which is the main honey producing region of Australia, in the month of June 2022. According to a recent post by the New York Times, if the varroa mite spreads across Australia, it could cost the nation’s honey industry more than 70 million AUD a year, impacting the crops that rely on bee pollination. In order to curtail the damage, beekeepers are burning beehives in the affected area of the state. This might result in lower honey production in the country and reduce the volume of honey exports in the coming months. One could argue that the adulation Australian honey exports have received may not last long and that export volumes will begin to fall again.

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