Sask. beekeepers warn 50 per cent U.S. tariffs could shut down key export market

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Simon Lalonde, president of the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Development Commission, said the proposed 50 per cent tariffs could force beekeepers to explore other markets, which can be a difficult proposition. (Image Credit: Submitted/Simon Lalonde)

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Canadian honey makes up only a small portion of U.S. imports, making the tariff difficult for producers to understand, Lalonde explained.

“We’re only supplying them with two per cent of their import needs, which is a very small amount (and) definitely not enough to warrant a 50 per cent tariff on it,” he said.

According to Lalonde, Canada has averaged about 11 million pounds of honey exports to the United States in recent years, while the U.S. imports roughly 450 million pounds of honey annually. Depending on market conditions, he said some Canadian producers send nearly all of their honey south of the border.

“Some years probably close to 100 per cent might go to the U.S. Another year is very little. Honey is very much an open-market system,” he explained.

Lalonde said Saskatchewan beekeepers rely heavily on three main markets: Canada, the U.S., and Japan. If the tariff moves forward, he said Canadian producers would likely be unable to absorb the added cost themselves.

“Canadian beekeepers definitely can’t afford to pay that 50 per cent tariff out of their pocket, and the U.S. buyers who would be picking up that honey won’t be willing to pay that premium,” he said.

That, he warned, means sales “would probably just dry up entirely.”

Lalonde said the proposed tariff comes at a difficult time for Saskatchewan’s beekeeping industry.

“Our biggest problem is we’ve had extremely low honey prices for the last four years, where we’ve actually been below the cost of our production,” he said.

Lalonde said the goal for many producers has simply been to take care of what they already have.

“Beekeepers have basically just been trying to keep their bees alive and healthy. There’s been really no investment in new equipment, new extracting lines, new vehicles,” he said.

If the U.S. market becomes less accessible, Lalonde said Saskatchewan beekeepers may need to start looking for new customers around the world.

“We do need those other markets. Europe has just started indicating they might accept some Canadian honey,” he said.

He said one challenge will be educating consumers in markets that are unfamiliar with Canadian honey varieties. Many Canadian producers create naturally creamy honey, while some international markets are more accustomed to liquid honey. Because of the different product, Lalonde said breaking into new markets requires testing, education and building relationships with buyers.

“It’s a process in something like Europe. I’m not even sure, at this point, if any honey has shipped from Canada since they’ve started saying that it could,” he said.

While the direct value of Canadian honey production is significant, Lalonde said the role of bees in agriculture makes the industry much larger than honey sales alone. He said Canadian beekeepers contribute billions of dollars in pollination services for crops like fruit, vegetables and hybrid-seed canola.

“Beekeepers are going to be the ones who feel this pinch, but it will be a trickle-down effect,” he said.

A decline in the industry could eventually affect other agricultural sectors that depend on healthy bee populations.

“There will definitely be ripple effects throughout the entire agriculture industry,” Lalonde added.

For now, despite the proposed 50 per cent tariffs, Lalonde said the focus for many beekeepers is to simply get through the honey production season.

“The next six weeks are really going to dictate what happens for our honey crop,” he said.

“After that, we’ll deal with whatever tariffs and whatever the next thing comes at us. We’ll figure it out from there.”