Sweet catastrophe: ‘low-cost’ honey from China is destroying Spanish beekeepers

Of all the things that Raquel dreamed of being when she was growing up, the last thing on her mind was to dedicate herself to beekeeping. This 34-year-old from Alcarreña began to take an interest in bees seven years ago. What she in her day recognized as a hobby, today is his profession. But maybe not for long if the situation doesn’t change. The sector speaks of “catastrophe”. Sales have fallen by 50% and they assure that they do not have direct aid like other professionals in the primary sector. The main enemy is not at home: “poor quality” honey imported from China is cheaper than the national one and they are taking over a large part of Spanish consumers. The most distrustful argue that for strain the product, use the duty-free Ukrainian route.

The question is that the honey comes from China, but is not labeled as such in the supermarket. A trick that is not funny to Spanish professionals. Alberto Romero, President of Cooperativas Agroalimentarias de Tierra Andaluza, explains that “the percentage of honey” does not appear on the packaging: “Many times there are adulterations and it is not even honey, but rice syrup.”

The sector’s discontent has caused them to gather this Thursday in front of the Ministry of Agriculture to demand solutions. Up to a thousand beekeepers from all over Spain gathered with banners, flags and smokers. Using pieces of wood, dry grass, or pellets, bee tamers generate smoke to lull insects to sleep and prevent stings as they work. They followed the same procedure in the capital: clouds of smoke flooded the Ministry’s façade as a sign of protest. rang maya the bee and one or the other opted to smear his body with honey while waiting for an institutional response.

These demands do not come from now. The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) already warned of the conflict with the labeling at the end of 2021. In a joint study with COAG, they argued that in the packaging of the markets “there is hardly any honey of Chinese origin. Why? Where Will the tons of Chinese honey that continues to enter Spain today end up?” The conclusion was that it was triangulated through other EU countries. “Several honeys are mixed and if none reaches 50%, the country in which the mixture has been made can be declared as the country of origin,” they explain. Those affected have already met with Minister Luis Planas to address the labeling problem, something that was not remedied taking into account the current situation. More and more foreign honey is imported, less and less domestic is sold.

In 2022 the import record was broken with 37,568 tons –almost 6,000 more than in 2021–. From COAG they point out that more than 8 tons of honey have been bought from China for 1.49 euros per kilo. But that number could increase taking into account the triangulations. “In the same period (year 2022) in which the Spanish industry bought 7,369 tons of honey from Portuguese operators at an average price of only €2.57/kg, they introduced 5,034 tons from China at an average price of 1′ 07 euros per kilo”. In this way, the original starting point of the product is camouflaged, which beekeepers classify as of worse quality than the native one.. However, this year national production has been reduced by 50%.

At the same time, and as explained from the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers (UPA)In recent years, more people have joined the sector. Especially young people like Raquel. “Many of them are not professionals and have fewer than 150 hives.” The drama comes when these big honey aficionados want to make their passion their profession. As Hobbie not bad. “Activity that requires less investment than other agricultural and livestock activities,” they point out from UPA. But living from it is complicated for many reasons.

Do they sneak it through Ukraine?

The other derivative of this trap, according to those affected, lies in Ukraine. Ventura Gil, 65 years old and president of the Professional Association of Extremaduran Beekeepers, argues that the pseudohoney produced in China has found a way into Spain through this Eastern European country to avoid tariffs. Beekeepers target a suspect boom of Ukrainian honey labeling, but no sign of China. This is possible thanks to the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (AA)which entered into force in September 2017, precisely to increase the exchange of goods between Europe and kyiv.

For years, Ukraine has been a classic gateway for Chinese goods, from cigarettes to food items, to other EU countries as a way to circumvent tariffs on Beijing. However, the large-scale Russian invasion, with the consequent blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports and the destruction of infrastructure have greatly limited this type of traffic. For months now, the Ukrainian ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk have limited their traffic to the transport of grain, and land routes to the rest of Europe have also been redirected to the export of vital products for the Ukrainian economy.

So where is China’s honey? Most likely camouflaged among the supermarket shelves. Of which there is no doubt where it is located in the Spanish: 60% is abandoned in ships to their fate because it is not profitable for them to sell it for two euros less than the cost of production.

The political scene is no stranger to this situation; at least not after this week’s protest. The Council of Ministers approved in October a royal decree to extend aid to the agricultural sector. Sources from the Ministry of Agriculture argue that subsidies were increased by 70%, reaching 19 million euros. However, Minister Luis Planas acknowledged this Friday that the sector suffers from a “very vulnerable and complicated” situation. He announced this in an interview on Canal Sur, where he also announced that the Executive is “examining the budget margin” to facilitate this aid.

honey nomads

In addition to the Asian threat, there are other factors that destabilize the sector. One of Raquel’s big problems to continue living from this is the cost of gasoline. Her 100 hives are nowhere near her home. 80% of the owners of swarms in Spain are nomadic, which means that they have to move around Spanish territory to find exports with the most favorable conditions. This woman from Alcarria travels kilometers from her home every day, within the province of Guadalajara. “I look for settlements with interesting flowering and always away from agricultural land because of pesticides. We change areas precisely because of the flowering every six months,” says this young woman, one of the few women who stands out in the sector.

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Ventura, on the other hand, moves from autonomous community throughout the year. A large part of their hives are located in Cáceres, and although before he transported them to Andalusia, the rise in prices has caused him to choose to go up to land in Castilla y León closer to his place of residence. The increase in the cost of diesel is another of the complaints that make up his list of demands. Beekeepers do not receive aid of 20 cents for fuel, as farmers and ranchers do. And they also denounce the absence of extra income as a result of the outbreak of the war, which has caused the increase in costs. This, together with the lack of rain and the threat of Varroa -a parasite that weakens and kills bees- add points to the decline of honey.

In Andalusia there are around 80,000 beehives distributed between Seville, Cádiz, Huelva and Córdoba. It represents 20% of national production. “We have also requested direct aid from the Junta de Andalucía due to the drought.” The weather conditions of the last year has fully affected honey production. A sweet catastrophe that threatens more than 28,000 Spanish families.

Of all the things that Raquel dreamed of being when she was growing up, the last thing on her mind was to dedicate herself to beekeeping. This 34-year-old from Alcarreña began to take an interest in bees seven years ago. What she in her day recognized as a hobby, today is his profession. But maybe not for long if the situation doesn’t change. The sector speaks of “catastrophe”. Sales have fallen by 50% and they assure that they do not have direct aid like other professionals in the primary sector. The main enemy is not at home: “poor quality” honey imported from China is cheaper than the national one and they are taking over a large part of Spanish consumers. The most distrustful argue that for strain the product, use the duty-free Ukrainian route.