I thought I'd pass this on, FWIW

---
Morning Allen.

I have had quite a little contact from people that were either at one or
both meetings earlier this month. Also had a call from a honey importer
looking to pedal bottled China honey.

As near as I can gather there have been container ships loaded or will be
loaded in the not so near future with China & American blended bottled
honey. It also was explained to me that our China friends have been working
hard at setting up a network of across North America to sell there bottled
product over here.

This guy was very bold when I asked him as how in the devil they though this
was going to work & how can they label this stuff as having American honey
in the container. I was told that China has been purchasing some American
honey for the past few years. And it is just as easy to bottle the 1 oz. of
American honey per 5 pound container over in China as it is done over here
by some of the packers only a lot cheaper.

I inquired about the taste & what not, & was assured that the honey was very
nice colored & had good taste. I could not get a price or as to what size
containers were being shipped for sure. Maybe I asked too many questions.
I have had this type of call from importers in the past few years but I don't
remember ever getting this much detail from any of the callers in the past.
So I called one of my queen breeders from California to check this story
out. He tells me that he has seen bottles of packed in China honey starting
to show up in the southern part of the state. He also told me it was very
cheaply priced. I guess it was just a matter of time before the little China
men pulled this deal on the honey packers. We all knew it was only time
before it happened.

Went in to a local supermarket chain here in the city to check the honey
prices on the shelf as a usually do once a month or so. I do this because
one of the 5 brands on the shelf is packed by a nearby local packer that
buys our honey crop. I know what we sold our crop for, & I have a real good
idea were the store brand label is packaged at -- & I know what they have
been paying for honey in the last 3 or 4 months.

His 5 pound container is priced 93 cents higher than the store brand's 3
pound container. The store manager has given him extra space as his product
sells very well & is priced right. I tasted the store brand. Looked good
but, what crap for taste!

Next hot item seems to be the Cargill " Honey Replacement " product they
have come out with. Some time back I was told that corn syrup sales to
beekeepers accounted for up to 20% of the yearly sales for many of the HFCS
people. As this gent explained to me is he & others have called there syrup
brokers & warned them that there next load of bee feed syrup & from this
point forward had better not come out of a Cargill plant or one that Cargill
has there fingers in.

Just that simple Allen. Why should we support them when they turn around &
cut our throat?????????????
Speaking of the China I understand that a small group of American beekeepers
have seen fit to undermine one of their fellow beekeepers by importing
plastic queen cell cup & plastic cages.

I find it strange that a man spends the last 20 years of his life in
perfection of this plastic business in order to make life easier for
American queen breeders & to raise a better queen. ...And what happens
someone thinks he is making a couple of pennies too much for his thousands
he has invested, so what do they do, but turn around & run to a country that
is all but cutting the legs out from under us beekeepers, support them & all
but kill the guy who invented the entire deal.

I guess it's all about greed Allen, or maybe hate would be a better word.

Last item that also seems to be on ever ones mind is that Canada & the USA
need to have our governments establish what the word " HONEY " is or means
for the entire food industry. Until this is done, all the beekeeper is doing
is spinning there wheels.

Not a lot of good news lately in this business Allen, maybe it's a good
thing you got out when you did!
See Ya.
---

Yes, I think we did sell at a good time, but when pollination cut back, we
realized that we either invest more -- $250,000 or more -- to get our plant
up to date, or get out.   Due to age, we got out.

Beekeeping is a good way of life and I miss it.  Beekeepers will stick with
it as long as they can, then a bit longer.

allen
A Beekeeper's Diary: http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::