The UK is the biggest importer of honey in Europe.
47,000 tons of honey a year comes from China.
Chinese honey contains chloramphenicol and antibiotics.
The wholesale price of Chinese honey was 43p per 454 g or pound. It is impossible to produce honey at these prices.
The investment of a UK beekeeper means each hive will be worth around £1000, including its bee’s. In any one given year the amount of honey that can be generated per hive which is called yield will vary dependant on the weather, placement of the hive, forage available, disease and hive loss. Which for some bee keepers can be catastrophic running at 50%. One London bee keeper lost half their hives this year.
What does this mean?
It means that the honey you are buying from a supermarket is not high grade organic quality honey. You only need to taste organic natural honey that has not been, messed with chemically to know the difference.
Bee keepers in the UK are underselling themselves and because of their kindness are producing a product for well under the cost of anything you would buy from a supermarket.
You always get what you pay for.
So, as a general guide if you are not paying £7 or above for a jar of honey, you are not buying real, natural, quality honey. You are buying an inferior product that has had many chemicals added to it.
As an artisan bee keeper, I keep my batches small and have to charge £10 a jar. Now you may think this is expensive, but when you taste it, you will realise why you are paying £10 a jar, and with its natural health benefits it is worth it.
You should support local bee keepers and buy their products for many reasons. Flying insects in the UK have fallen by 67%. That is THREE QUARTERS. We need all forms of insects to pollinate our food chain. Without pollinators, including bee’s , the whole world would be a barren desert, we would not be able to grow any food and we subsequently all bee dead in less than a year. Pun intended.
Morale of the story – support your local beekeepers and buy their superb product.
