AIKEN - The price of hon-ey is getting sweeter for South Carolina beekeepers, but their hives aren't buzzing with the same productivity as in years past.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
|
|
Have a thought?
Go to the Forums or Chat.
|
|
|
In South Carolina, where honey prices have climbed steadily from 53 cents a pound wholesale in 1992 to $1.25 a pound a decade later, production has been cut drastically because of bugs and wet weather.
"I had about 500 pounds (of honey) this year, 900 pounds last year," said Aiken beekeeper Hartmut Jung, one of about 20 area bee hobbyists. As with most of his fellow enthusiasts, the soaring price of honey means little to Mr. Jung.
"I didn't ask a different price than other years," said Mr. Jung, who sells most of the thick liquid amber from his 17 hives to a local fruit stand. "I have a clientele that's used to me, and I don't have any reason to change prices."
For South Carolina's commercial beekeepers, prices as high as $1.40 a pound better reflect the value of honey, according to Mike Hood, a bee specialist for Clemson University's Department of Entomology, Soils and Plant Sciences.
For years, honey imports from China undercut the costs domestic producers could offer, Mr. Hood said. But last year, the flow of honey was cut off from China because of concerns over possible pesticide contamination in the supply, creating a sudden vacuum in the market. At the same time, the varroa mite and small hive beetle have devastated domestic hives, and this year's rainfall has made it harder for bees to stay busy.
"The weather was lousy for honey-making," Mr. Jung said.
Rain-doused flowers take a few days to recover and produce nectar, the vital ingredient of honey. Also, bees aren't able to forage when it's raining.
South Carolina, with about 2,000 beekeepers and 20,000 to 25,000 hives, produced an estimated 1 million pounds of honey in 2002, Mr. Hood said, but that amount dropped by as much as 30 percent statewide in 2003.
So while the prices are a boon to beekeepers (and a bane to bakers), they can't cash in with a subpar crop.
"As far as beekeepers, it didn't really help," Mr. Hood said.
Beekeepers don't expect the prices to lure new people into the business.
|
Mr. Bommer removes one of the bee frames from a hive. Wet weather and bugs have taken a toll on honey production.
RON COCKERILLE/STAFF
|
"It's actually become a lost art form," said Robby Byars, of Aiken, who has 37 hives around the county. "With all the pests and mites, you actually have to work at it to succeed. Like most things in agriculture, it's a gamble."
Wes Bommer, the president of the Aiken Beekeeper Association, said, "If you don't watch your P's and Q's, you could buy a couple hundred hives, set up and lose your tail in the first year."
Mr. Hood says he doesn't think the high honey prices will last long. Prices hinge on the world honey market and the food industry's commitment to using honey as a sweetener.
"I would be surprised if they stay at the current levels they are today," he said. "I think there's a ceiling price where people are going to buy another product."
Reach Stephen Gurr at (803) 648-1395.
