‘Honey laundering’ is ruining us, warn Spain’s beekeepers
SPANISH honey producers are demanding the EU change its labelling laws to stop the industry from collapsing because of cheap imports from China.
Low-cost products from overseas, half of which are marketed fraudulently as pure honey because they are adulterated with sugar syrups, have added to problems faced by Spanish beekeepers.
They say they will be driven out of business if no action is taken to defend an industry that provides crucial pollination for the agricultural sector.
“Chinese honey doesn’t pollinate plants in Spain,” said José Luis Delgado, a beekeeper from Durón in Guadalajara province.
COAG, Spain’s agricultural union, and other beekeeping associations are demanding a change in EU labelling rules on blended honeys.
There is currently no obligation to state what proportion of a honey comes from any country, meaning a product can appear half-Spanish although as little as 1 per cent of it could be from Spain.
Four out of every five jars of honey now sold in the EU are of the blended variety, and many member countries are calling for Brussels to crack down on so-called “honey laundering”.
Spain is Europe’s biggest honey producer with more than three million bee hives, but the industry is reeling from the triple threat of drought, disease borne by mites and a price squeeze.
The average cost of honey imported to the EU is €2.32 (£2) a kilo, with the typical cost of production in Spain above €3 and rising.
Production of honey in Spain has fallen by 30 per cent since 2018, and yet, Mr Delgado noted, the prices being paid by distributors have barely changed.
He sells his honey directly for €8 a half-kilo, and explained: “Quality is what we have in Spain. The best thing I can leave my son is 100 customers who love our honey, rather than five tons of annual bulk production.”