The rising price of sugar could make honey more expensive, a Bavarian beekeeper has warned.
Michael Maier from Lenggries south of Munich said erratic weather conditions had forced him to provide his colonies with additional nutrition such as sugar water.
Speaking to the Münchner Merkur newspaper, the apiarist said he had experienced similar situations in the past years. But Michael warned that current inflation rates were putting beekeepers under intensifying pressure which could result in higher honey prices.
The head of the Bad Tölz – Miesbach Beekeepers Union said: “Sugar prices have gone through the roof, they have nearly doubled.”
Michael did not rule out that apiarists would pass on those price hikes to their clients.
Reflecting on this year’s honey harvest, he said: “Generally, I’m highly satisfied. The season started terribly but when the weather improved, things really got going.”
Michael explained that plants and flowers had been in good condition even in the heat due to the many weeks of rain this spring.
Asked by the Münchner Merkur to identify the main challenges of beekeepers these days, Michael mentioned the Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that is capable of killing honeybee colonies.
He explained: “Treating colonies is incredibly important. Around 95 per cent of our colonies would die without our interventions.”
Michael underlined: “We are confronted with Varroa incidents each year.”
There are more than 149,000 beekeepers in Germany, according to the Centre for Bees and Beekeeping in Mayen, Rhineland-Palatinate. Last year, they were in charge of 990,000 colonies.
Germany is one of the leading production locations for honey in Europe. However, local apiarists struggle to meet consumers’ high demand for the product.
A substantial part of the honey on supermarket shelves across the country originates from other EU states and non-EU locations like Turkey and Mexico.
