Honey Prices Trickle Down Due To Growing Domestic Output

In the unlikely event of a food apocalypse, the last thing your kitchen will be devoid of now is honey. In other words, the price of honey has dropped to INR 70-75 per kg. This is three quarters of what the price was a year back. The drastic price drop has come about as a result of steady growth in domestic honey production and stabilization in the price of sugar, which one of the major adulterants used to up the sweetness of honey.

Apart from sugar, rice syrup and corn are the two other additives used by honey manufacturers to boost the natural sweetener’s volume. But with sugar prices having jumped up by almost 45% from a year ago, and domestic honey production also increasing at 10% annually, any scope for adulteration has gone down. This in turn has resulted in honey prices slumping.

“Officials at the National Bee Board, which comes under the agriculture ministry, said adulteration of honey with corn, rice and sugar syrup and even use of antibiotics is a major concern, which the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is trying to address”, reported ET Retail.

“Honey, the natural sweet substance produced by honeybees, is sometimes adulterated using cane sugar. As price difference between the two decreases, the chance of adulteration with cane sugar or cane syrup also falls,” said Amit Dhanuka, CEO of Kejriwal Bee Care India Pvt Ltd.

Dhanuka also added that Delhi’s wholesale market tacks the price of sugar at INR 40-42/kg in comparison to INR 29/kg a year ago. On the other hand, honey production, which majorly happens in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab, has seen a steady annual growth of 10%. Speaking in bigger number, honey production touched a whopping 8,900 tonnes in 2015-16, of which 60% was exported to Europe and United States.

CFO Dabur India Ltd., Lalit Malik said in a statement: “The supplies are consistent and we don’t expect prices firming up, so prices will remain stable. If wholesale prices keep falling, the prices can see a correction.”

Winnie The Pooh is ecstatic, btw.

Feature Image: sustainablepulse