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Duck in for a
look ...
CHOOKS and ducks from some of state’s
best breeders will once again be up for sale
at next week’s annual Tasmanian Poultry
Auction at Longford.
STORY: Page 16
Poultry Club of Tasmania president Damian Whiteley with one of the black Indian Runner ducks he has specialised in for 10 years.
Picture: KAROLIN MACGREGOR
Cheap Chinese imports threaten local producers
Sour outlook for honey
KAROLIN MACGREGOR
TASMANIAN beekeepers say a 昀氀ood
of cheap imported honey is threatening the viability of the industry.
For many years Tasmanian honey
was some of the most sought after
around the globe and has been widely
consumed across the country.
However local producers now say
huge amounts of cheap imported products from countries including China
means they are struggling to sell their
honey.
Tasmanian beekeepers say they
have hundreds of tonnes of honey on
hand, which they are unable to sell,
because they cannot compete with
the cheap and lower quality imported
product.
Some are now saying if things do
not improve, they may be forced to
exit the industry.
Tasmanian Beekeepers Association
president Lindsay Bourke said it was
a very serious situation that could
impact not only honey production,
but also pollination services.
“It’s all over Australia and New
Zealand too – everyone is in the same
position,” he said. “It could be a threat
to all the crops like blueberries, cherries and all the vegetables as well.”
Mr Bourke said it was only three
years ago that demand for Tasmanian
leatherwood honey was exceeding
supply.
“Hundreds of tonnes now sitting
around is very serious,” he said.
Mr Bourke was in Singapore this
week at the Food Asia show where
he was aiming to identify new export
markets and customers.
He said while the industry did not
want to stop imports altogether, there
must be some strict quality standards
applied.
Mr Bourke said importers should
also be required to contribute to industry funding for biosecurity and marketing services, like local producers.
Imported honey can also pose signi昀椀cant biosecurity risks.
Mr Bourke said there are now
serious concerns that the devastating
deformed wing virus can be transmitted through honey.
Ewan Stephens from R Stephens
Honey, a family business that has been
operation for over 100 years, said the
current situation is unsustainable and
is having a huge impact on beekeepers
across the country.
Mr Stephens said they used to sell
about 400 tonnes of honey a year and
last year sold just 80 tonnes.
“The locals in Tassie are fantastic
and buy our honey, but the mainland
and overseas market is terrible,” he
said.
Previously about 70 per cent of the
family’s honey was sold across the
country and the remaining 30 per cent
was exported.
Since the increase in imported
honey products, which can be sold
much cheaper, Mr Stephens said sales
in the supermarkets had plummeted.
He said they have never had such
a large amount of honey sitting
in storage. “We’ve never seen this
before,” he said.
“Usually, we could sell as much as
we could get … people couldn’t get
enough of it.”
Long time honey producer and
founder of the Tasmanian Honey
Company, Julian Wolfhagen, said
the dumping of cheap products from
countries like China was a problem
impacting honey industries across
the globe.
He is another local producer who
has seen a signi昀椀cant drop off in sales
since the 昀氀ood of imports.
Mr Wolfhagen said one of the biggest issues was the lack of regulation
on what can be imported into Australia
and called honey.
Continued page 7
TASMANIAN COUNTRY Friday, April 26, 2024 3