Concern over global honey supply shortage

GLOBAL concerns over a possible honey supply shortage for consumers and industry have been voiced by a leading packager and supplier.

According to Stuart Bailey of Rowse Honey, 25% of bee colonies in Britain died last winter due to varroa mite parasite, wet spring weather that confined bees to hives, and changing agricultural patterns.

He said British bee farmers provided 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes of honey a year, a small fraction of the total requirements at consumer and industrial level for food formulation.