Hello Rudi,
I appriciate your response and offer.
The only Argentine honey I have seen has been bakery grade and blended with
water white in the following blend.
8 drums Argentine to two drums water white.
Maybe the importers I have visited do not buy your better honey.
The middlemen you hope to eliminate may go out from between you and the U.S.
market but are not going away but only to another source.
Neither you nor Sioux Bee can compete with imported honey from China prices.
China has more hives than both the U.S. and Argentina combined. When they
dump again prices will fall.
Your situation is different than the U.S. situation in that you are needing
to export most of your honey. The U.S. honey producer can always slam the
door on imports by selling below your prices and delivering to the plant
saving shipping costs to the packer.
Low prices from imports of foriegn honey have turned the packers away from
supporting the American beekeeper causing many beekeeping families to go
under. Causing hard feelings that only time and kind responses from
beekeepers like yourself will heal.
They bought *your honey* ahead of ours.
The blended honey produced today by Sioux Bee is hurting the market. I buy a
jar about once a month to taste. Yuk!
The Canadians or any packer selling straight water white could capture the
market *IF* they could compete price wise and show the consumer the
difference in flavor.
I also predict China will simply blend contaminated honey with *new crop*
until the contaminated honey can not be detected and then flood the market
in the next year when the new crop is ready to market. Prices could go to
record lows as Peter has predicted!
As you expand hive numbers (as Peter predicts) in Argentina be sure and add
enough warehouse space to store the drums until the price goes back up.
You will most likely be given the same choice as the American Beekeeper. Get
below China prices if you want to sell drums of honey.
China honey I have seen is not as dark as the Argentine honey I have seen
thus not needing the water white to blend with. Some China honey is close to
water white.
Bob
