Rising honey volumes cannot dispel concerns regarding Asian hornet attacks and soaring production costs, a poll among beekeepers in southwestern Germany has shown.
Dr Christoph Otten, who heads the Centre for Bees and Beekeeping in Mayen, Rhineland-Palatinate, said apiarists based in Baden-Württemberg had managed to harvest 28 kilogrammes of honey per bee colony last year.
The researcher explained that this was an increase of 1.6 kilogrammes compared to 2022. Dr Otten started conducting the honey harvest survey in 2012. Record volumes were reached in 2020 with 35.2 kilogrammes of honey per colony of honeybees.
The expert told broadcaster SWR: “It was a good year for beekeeping.”
Dr Otten admitted that apiarists in southwestern Germany had to endure difficult weather circumstances such as heavy rainfall and extraordinarily dry periods.
But he emphasised: “Three to four days of fine weather in a row can have a huge impact.”
Among the 11 million inhabitants of Baden-Württemberg, there are 22,000 honey farm managers. Most of them keep bees as a pastime activity or to earn some extra money by selling honey and beeswax.
Dr Otten said that the ongoing proliferation of the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) was a big concern for apiarists. The invasive species kills and eats bees.
A spokesperson for the Environment Ministry in the German state of Saarland recently told the Bild newspaper: “The Asian hornet has become an immense problem. We can hardly follow up all reports about nests.”
Speaking about other important current issues, Dr Otten mentioned the “rising cost pressure” due to the inflation and cheap imported honey on supermarket shelves across Germany.
The director of the Centre for Bees and Beekeeping argued: “There has been no alternative to increase the price of honey. Many beekeepers are unable to cover their expenses nevertheless.”
One 500-gramme jar of honey made in Germany currently costs approximately EUR 6.50 (GBP 5.50). This means that the price has risen by five per cent year on year.
