[TRIDGE Trend Analysis: October W1] - The worst year for French honey in 5 decades

Honey

France

Published Oct 20, 2021

According to the National Union of French Beekeeping (UNAF), 2021 has been the worst year for beekeepers in more than 50 years. The 2021 honey crop will be a mere 7,000 to 9,000 MT, less than half the 18,000 to 20,000 MT of 2020. This follows after cold and frost, excessive rainfall, and persistent northerly winds adversely impacted the flowering of pollen-producing plants and kept bees from gathering pollen. With honey from the 2020 season still in stock, imports to France have not yet reacted, but will likely have to increase drastically to make up for the loss in production.

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Overview of the French Honey Industry

France produced around 16,000 MT of honey annually over the 5 years ending 2020. 2020 was a particularly good year and production could be as high as 20,000MT when figures are finalized. However, France imports more than twice the amount of honey it produces domestically. Imports over the last five years averaged 50,175 MT and exports were minor, at 4,593 MT. Over the long term, consumption has been trending upwards, but local production has been fairly constant, which means exports are increasing. Imports increased by 10% over the last five years and 30% over the last ten years.

Source: FAOSTAT, UNAF

Disastrous 2021

The 2021 honey season started off well, as winter temperatures rose earlier than normal. However, the optimism was short-lived as frost returned to the north of the country in spring where temperatures dropped below -10°C for 5 straight days. This hampered flowering in the region and bees were unable to gather pollen. The acacia honey crop was nearly wiped out. In southern regions, persistent rain prevented bees from leaving the hives and collecting pollen. Bad weather persisted throughout the summer, and as far back as July, UNAF alerted the government and started seeking aid. According to UNAF the reason for the disastrous year is the result of climate change. Over the last fifteen years, the weather has become more unpredictable and flowering seasons have become shorter. As a result of global warming, flowers start blooming earlier but the flowering season also ends much sooner. 2021’s weather anomalies were more severe and in conjunction with a general rise in temperatures, resulted in 2021 being the worst year in decades for honey producers. Temperatures in France have increased from 11.6°C fifteen years ago, to 12.7°C in 2020. As climate change will continue to impact the industry, the future of France’s 70,000 beekeepers seems uncertain.

Source: WorldBank

Imports have not yet reacted

With production that was high in 2020, the demand for imported honey was subdued for the first half of 2021. Imports for the first 7 months of 2021 were 17,163 MT, compared to 18,997 MT for the previous year and 19,674 MT the 5-year average for the same period. However, as summer progressed, it became more and more obvious that the honey crop will be mediocre. By July it was clear that honey production in 2021 would be less than half of 2020. Import figure from ITC Trade Map shows that imports were slow to react. Up to July 2021, there had not been an uptick in honey imports as of yet. France imports two-thirds of its consumption, but it could make up a larger and larger portion if these climatic catastrophes continue.