Firstly
I would like to thank all the beekeepers that have taken the trouble
to respond to my request for honey crop and price statistics.
This year I have had many more responses (93). Unfortunately,
a good number of the replies do not give sale prices for the honey,
some state that they do not sell to the public, others are clearly
reluctant to reveal what they charge. I am happy to use
the production figures from these surveys but it does make the
price averages somewhat less accurate.
In
the discussion below, I have made comparison with the final results
from the previous survey asking the same questions about the 2006
season, so that you can compare this directly to last years survey.
Results
2007
·Average
Honey Yield 93 replies
ranging from 0.0lbs to 143.3lbs per colony
2007 average = 39lbs
(2006 = 51lb)
·Direct
Sales Price (Flower): 49 replies
ranging from £2.00/lb to £5.00/lb
2007 average = £3.34/lb
(2006 = £3.54/lb)
·Wholesale
Honey Price (Flower): 18 replies
ranging from £2.00/lb to £10.00/lb
2007 average = £3.13/lb
(2006 = £2.18/lb)
·Bulk
Honey Price (Flower): 3 replies
ranging from £2.25/lb to £8.50/lb
2007 average = £4.42/lb
(2006 = £1.33/lb)
·Cut
comb: 9 replies
were received ranging from £4.00/lb to £8.00/lb.
2007 average = £6.36/lb
(2006 = £6.58/lb)
Discussion
These
results are compiled from beekeepers owning between 1 and 40 colonies
with total yields between 0lbs and 1690lbs. There is a wide
variation in reported average honey yields – from 0 to 143
lbs per colony. The average yield (39 lb) is a large decrease
over the previous year’s figure (51lb) and is mainly contributed
to the poor weather in the summer season. This year, for
the first time, I received honey surveys indicating that no honey
had been collected (6 responses)
As
far as sale of honey is concerned, direct sale to customers is
the commonest method - 49 respondents provided a figure for this.
As usual there is little agreement over price. However,
the average price this year has gone down by 20p/lb. It
does appear that beekeepers are not charging the price that they
could command for selling what I consider to be, a premium product
- locally produced honey. Using figures from this survey,
an average crop of honey per colony was worth £130.26 when
sold direct at average prices. (2006 = £180.54)
18
replies indicated selling honey wholesale to a retailer. Here
the figures are helped by a beekeeper who sells into the London
market and gains a significantly higher price than most other
beekeepers would think is achievable (£10/lb). (Without
that figure the remaining 17 replies average at £2.73/lb
- range £2.00/lb to £5.00/lb). At average wholesale
price, an average crop of honey per colony was worth £122.07 (2006 = £111.18)
3
contributors indicated they sold honey in bulk. Again the London
beekeeper made a big difference to the average, selling at £8.50/lb,
the other two replies being £2.50 & £2.25/lb (average
£2.38). At the average bulk price, an average crop
of honey per colony was worth £172.38 (2006 = £67.83).
Without the London bias the average bulk price per crop of honey
is £92.82
Only
10% of replies indicated selling cut-comb honey. No distinction
was made in the questionnaire between wholesale and direct-sale
of cut-comb, however, it is thought that the majority of cut-comb
is sold direct. As last year, the price doubled between the minimum
and maximum prices provided. The price of cut-comb honey is approximately
1.90 times that of extracted honey sold direct. At average cut
comb price, an average crop of honey per colony was worth £248.04
(2006 = £335.58)
Overall,
direct sales honey prices in 2007 have decreased by approx 5.67%
over 2006 (20p), but both the wholesale and bulk honey prices
have increased significantly, even without the London influence,
by approx 25% & 79% respectively.
