French beekeepers showing off their gooey goodies at the Agriculture Fair in Paris say that selling their honey has become increasingly difficult because the market is saturated with imports. A rollback on pesticide rules is also causing worry for the welfare of bees.
French people are very fond of honey and of other beehive products.
Around 45,000 tonnes of honey is consumed in France every year. This makes France one of Europe's top honey-consuming countries, with the average person consuming 600 grams of honey.
In France more and more honey is eaten each year, with at least 75 percent of people consuming the golden nectar on a regular basis.
But over the last 20 years, the amount of honey produced in France has fallen dramatically.
Imported honey
"A recent study shows that over 46 percent of honey in supermarkets is imported," Mélanie, a beekeeper based in Seine et Marne near Paris, told RFI.
"France doesn't produce enough honey for its consumers, so importing honey is fair enough. But perhaps it's also time for supermarkets to promote French honey."
France imports an average of 35,000 tonnes of honey every year. Most of this comes from Ukraine and Spain, but also Germany, Argentina and China.
Earlier this month, more than 50 beekeepers removed "non-French honey" from the shelves of a supermarket near Nantes, in western France, while also denouncing the use of pesticides in agriculture.
French beekeeping professionals say the sector is under-exploited. France has a huge range of honey varieties, but the production is not keeping pace with demand.
"France makes excellent honey, we have excellent habitats, but honey costing less than €5 a kilo isn't worth producing," she Mélanie adds.
Raphaël, a beekeeper and organice honey producer from eastern France, agrees.
"For both organic and conventional beekeepers in France, it is very difficult to sell our products," he says.
"We're dealing with colleagues who have huge stocks. Generally, we work a year in advance. This allows us to smooth out a very bad production year.
"Now we’re mostly working two years in advance, and our revenues have started to fall very, very low."
Easing of pesticide rules
The other problem the beekeeping economy faces is the suspension of Ecophyto 2030 plan cutting down on pesticides used in agriculture.
Beekeepers work a lot with farmers grow spring polyfloral, sunflower and buckwheat honey.
"It's clear that if we're suddenly told that phytosanitary products (inclusing pesticides) have to be used on crops, there's going to be a disaster down the line," Mélanie says.
"It is a proven fact that pesticides kill bees."
Then there are other factors contributing to bee mortality such as the Asian hornet, varroa mites and climate change.
"I understand that farmers need these products, but we're also going to have to work with beekeepers because there are a lot of us in France too," Mélanie adds.
"A plan must be put in place to protect our biodiversity and our profession, while also working with farmers."
