This year, although the output is high, honey prices drop sharply. The price of one kg of honey equals the price of one water bottle. It has made beekeepers suffer losses to keep their jobs.
The acacia forests along the Ho Chi Minh route through Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Tan Ky, Nghia Dan districts, etc are suitable places for beekeeping. On average, each district has 50 – 70 honey bee farms. Each farm has about 150 – 600 bee hives.
In recent times, honey prices dropped sharply.
According to beekeepers, this year, the weather is quite favorable so the bee hives produce a good amount of honey. Currently, in the middle of the honey harvest, taking advantage of hot days, bee farms are actively harvesting honey.
Almost bee farms keep foreign bees (Italian bees) with the advantage of easy adaptation to the environment, strong growth, and high honey production. On average, every 7 – 10 days, farms harvest honey again. One bee barrel with a large number of worker bees can create about 100 kg of honey.
The honey harvest season lasts from March to September. Bee bridges are selected, arranged, and added to help the bees grow better each harvest period.
According to beekeepers in Anh Son district, each year, nomadic bee farms often move around from the South to the North. Around February, from the South, the farms will send bees to the Northern provinces to take advantage of the lychee or longan flowering season. Then in April, they will bring bees to Nghe An to harvest acacia honey. The quality of acacia honey is even better than many other types of honey.
With each honey spin, farms mobilize more manpower to move bee bridges, spin barrels, pack honey, etc. Currently, bee farms use stainless barrels to ensure hygiene. Every morning, a bee farm can spin several tons of honey.
Mr. Vu Van Duy (41 years old), a beekeeper in Duc Son commune (Anh Son) said: Currently, Duc Son commune has about 10 bee farms. His farm is raising 600 bee hives, which have been built over the years. With each harvest, the bee farm can get 1.3 – 2.5 tons of honey. “This year, the amount of honey is high but the price is low, so the beekeeper has no profit, even suffering loss”, Mr. Duy said.
In the middle of the honey season, the honey quality is good with nice color and mild sweetness. The prices of bright yellow honey are higher than the dark types. The darker the honey color is, the lower prices. At the beginning of 2022, the prices of honey fluctuated in the range of 20,000 – 21,000 VND/kg. At the same time last year, the price was about 16,000-17,000 VND/kg. Currently, the price of honey purchased at bee farms in Nghe An only ranges from 9,000 – 10,000 VND/kg, even the bad types are only sold for 7,500 – 8,000 VND/kg.
Beekeepers are harvesting honey in Nghia Binh commune, Nghia Dan district.
Mr. Phung Van Van (60 years old), a beekeeper in Thanh Son Commune (Thanh Chuong), said: “I have had dozens of years in the job. Currently, the input is high while the output is low, so the price of honey has never been as low as today. The price of one kg of honey is only equal to the price of one water bottle. Although the output is high, the income is low. The falling price of honey has caused beekeepers to suffer difficulties. Some farms have to sell bees and quit their jobs, some people are trying to keep their jobs.
According to beekeepers, honey prices fell sharply in the domestic market because it could not be exported, especially to the US. Therefore, honey companies have to import at low prices. The prices of honey drop sharply, and the cost of labor and materials are high, causing bee farms to be severely affected. Each labor earns about 450,000 – 500,000 VND/day.
Mr. Le Van Luan from Thanh Huong commune (Thanh Chuong), buying honey for a honey company in Dak Lak, said: His facility collects honey throughout districts in Nghe An. Each month, he buys about 120 tons of honey at the price of 9,000 – 10,000 VND/kg. The purchasing price of honey in Nghe An depends on the “parent company” in Dak Lak. Migratory beekeeping is in a situation of buying expensive and selling cheap./.