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Canada-USA Export Report:

Honey Products for Natural Treatments

Mackenzee Gould
Agr*1110*0104
November 28th, 2017
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Part I: Product Information

Introduction to Product:

The use of honey as natural remedies is becoming more known worldwide, and people are

beginning to explore its potential. The most common form of honey used as a topical treatment is

manuka honey. This type of honey is essentially sold for medicinal use, because it shares similar

qualities to prescription medicines doctors would typically recommend. While raw honey can be

used for treatments as well, manuka honey contains more beneficial nutrients that the body can

use in the healing process. Manuka honey is made from the nectar within a manuka flower, and

the manuka flower can only be found in New Zealand and Australia. This paper will analyze

how the United States would benefit from this product, and how it could help decrease potential

health care costs.

Honey Companies:

Wedderspoon is a company located in British Columbia and they are a main provider of manuka

honey. Since their most popular product is manuka honey, they do have to receive the nectar

from New Zealand but are able to make very high-quality honey products (Wedderspoon).

The Honey Bee Store, located in Port Colborne, Ontario (The Honey Bee Store, 2017). This is a

smaller scaled seller of manuka honey and other honey products, but they are also commonly

known for selling a lot of manuka honey for medicinal use. This example shows that even in

smaller towns manuka honey is being used, and people are confident in its ability.

Other large operations include Bee Maid and Honey Bee Manufacturing Limited, these

companies are large producers of honey in Canada, and provide Canada with the export

opportunities it has with honey. It is large franchises like these ones that produce a vast amount
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of Canadas honey year to year and help increase the amount of honey produced each year.

These companies also provide jobs for many Canadian citizens.

Figure 1: (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2015)

Since companies like Bee Maid get most of their honey from Alberta and Manitoba, this chart

shows that the prairie provinces produce the most amount of honey in Canada. There is no true

reason as to why the prairies produce more honey, but it was noticed that bees tend to produce

better in the prairies. Since this was discovered it has allowed the prairie provinces to grow their

honey farms and continue to increase their production. While other provinces still produce

honey, they do not compare to the numbers that the prairies have. This is why most honey

farmers can be found on the western side of Canada, as there is more opportunities there to have

a more successful honey farm, and in order for companies to make money one needs to ensure

the best quality honey is being produced.

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Required Labour:

The labour that goes into honey production begins with having bee colonies. The bee colonies

are what produce the raw honey, this can be extracted by beekeepers when the honey is ready.

Since bees only pollinate in the spring and summer being a beekeeper is more seasonal as there

is not as much work in the winter months. Once the raw honey is extracted from the hives, if

producers choose to make another product such as manuka honey that would require the honey

to be processed in a factory, which also creates more jobs for people. Being a worker within the

factory is more likely to be an all-year job because there can always be honey to be processed

whereas, the bees are not always pollinating for the beekeepers to remain busy. The production

of honey and honey products opens many job opportunities for Canadians, from beekeeping to

working in a factory and producing a variety of honey products.

Inputs:

One of the biggest inputs required for honey production is the maintenance of the bees, and their

bee hives. To find good quality honey, the bees need to be kept happy and healthy. This means

that the bees need to have a good hive to come back to, and are taken care of to stop the rapid

decline that is seen in bee colonies. There are no feed costs for bees because they get their feed

from the nectar within the flowers they go around pollinating. As long as there are plentiful

amounts of flowers the bees will always have a sustainable food source.

Description of Honey Industry in Canada:

The honey and bee industry have been on a consistent climb in Canada for the past few years.

This increase has reflected greatly on the amount of honey produced and the amount of money

made year to year. The prairies made approximately 81% of Canadas honey production in 2015,
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this is due to their warm, long summer days and favourable crops (Statistical Overview of

Canadian Honey and Bee Industry). In 2015 Canada achieved a positive trade balance which was

a 46% increase from the previous year, and Canadas honey production is one of the biggest

export business Canada has (Statistical Overview of Canadian Honey and Bee Industry).

Health Benefits:

Since honey has a lower glycemic index than regular table sugar, that means that it can be

absorbed into the bloodstream at a much slower and more gradual rate. (Wedderspoon). This is

beneficial because the body can use the sugar as it is needed instead of getting a large amount of

sugar all at once and not always having a spot for it to go. It also contains a variety of enzymes

which are beneficial at any time because the body can always use more enzymes. Since manuka

honey is most commonly used for topical treatments of wounds or burns, it is considered the best

for this because it has higher antibacterial qualities compared to regular honey.

Benefits to Canada:

The exporting of manuka honey and raw honey can create even bigger revenues for Canada is

they can continue to consistently have good honey production. The opening of Wedderspoon

created many job opportunities throughout British Columbia and allowed for more export

opportunities because Canada can produce their own manuka honey. Large amounts of honey

production could help smaller scaled farmers in the honey industry because the more honey they

are able to produce the more they benefit from it, and if honey is in a higher demand companies

will be asking them for more honey. If Canada has a good year exporting their honey products it

means that the farmers will be given a bigger cheque at the end of the year. Honey production

also contains many environmental benefits which will be discussed later in the paper.
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Machinery Required:

To produce honey there is no motor run equipment, but there are tools that are used to extract

honey and protect beekeepers from the bees. A few of the tools are a hive tool which is used to

open the bee hive, and the smoker which is used to calm the bees, so they do not become

aggravated by the beekeepers. There is also the hive which is home to all the bees, the hive

contains supers which are the thin sleeves that can be pulled out from the hive. The supers

contain the honeycomb and are removed when the honey is going to be extracted. The

beekeepers also have specific clothing they wear to stay as safe as possible. This clothing

includes; veils to protect their face, gloves to protect their hands and arms, and a full suit to cover

their whole body to protect them from potential harm.

Figure 2: This is an image of the hive tool, used to pry open the hives.

Figure 3: This is an image of a beekeeper wearing their full outfit.

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Environmental Sustainability:

To ensure that honey production can be sustainable, the world needs to protect bees and stop the

numbers from decreasing each year. Bees are important for the earths survival since they do

majority of the pollinating. The pollination of flowers is important for humans because flowers

and trees give off oxygen. Honey production has been a sustainable commodity for many years

and can continue to remain that way if bees are taken care of. The biggest struggle bees face is

surviving the harsh winters, most bees are not able to make it through a grueling winter, as well

as rainstorms. If a bee is in flight during a rainstorm and get hit by a raindrop they will more than

likely due to the blunt force. Although this is not avoidable, we are able to protect them during

the winter, and if measures are taken to ensure that, then honey production can be sustainable for

many years to come.

Part II: Export Potential to The United States

Honey Industry in The United States:

The honey industry in the United States produced approximately 326,081,000 dollars in honey.

The United States has a successful honey industry but given the size of the United States and the

number of people that live there it is hard for them to produce enough honey to keep up with the

demand. Honey production in the U.S.A. is very common in the northern areas that line up with

Canadas prairies, since those areas have nearly the same climates. In 2016 the production went

up 3% for honey farms that had five or more bee colonies. Colonies consist of one queen,

hundreds of male bees and twenty thousand to eighty thousand worker bees, which are female.

This means farms with a minimum of five colonies have roughly one hundred thousand to four
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hundred thousand bees on their farm. These larger farms are where most of the production comes

from within the United States.

Needs and Benefits to Importing Nation:

If the use of raw honey or manuka honey was brought into hospitals within the United States it

could potentially lower health care costs for many civilians. This is important for the country

because they do not have universal healthcare coverage (DPE, 2016). This means that a lot of

people must pay for their healthcare costs out of pocket, which is not an everyday struggle we

see in Canada. Having to pay for medical bills right away can be decrementing to people and

their families, as medical help is not cheap. In an experiment it was calculated that the United

States spend 261.2 billion dollars on healthcare while Canada only spends 21 billion dollars

(Woolhandler, 2003). This shows that the United States spend substantially more on health care

then Canada, although the U.S.A. has more citizens the use of raw honey and manuka honey

could lower these costs greatly. The use of honey for topical wounds such as burns, warts, or

scars could lower costs because it is cheaper to produce honey than a medical ointment to apply

on the skin. Since manuka honey is most commonly used for medicinal uses, it is still less money

to produce the honey, which means consumers would not have to pay as much to cover the costs

of the product being made. Manuka honey also has ant-inflammatory properties which could be

used in the instance of muscle injury or any type of swelling throughout the body (Jones, 2016).

If people within the United States trust the anti-bacterial properties that manuka honey and even

raw honey contain, these products could be inputted into their local hospitals. With these

products being available to hospitals it means the U.S.A. would have a lower overall healthcare

spending and would not have to charge their citizens as much for treatment.
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Transportation:

The transportation of honey can be a delicate job sometimes, there is many precautions taken to

ensure the honey will remain at its highest quality and not have any damage by the time it

reaches the consumer. When the supers are full of honey and ready to be removed from the hive,

they need to be transferred delicately and quickly. The vehicle in which the super are being

loaded on to must be clean and free of any type of toxins as well as the surrounding loading area,

this ensure the honey will maintain its high quality. The supers are also constantly covered in

canvas for extra protection, and while being loaded the vehicle should not be under direct

sunlight. The sun could also later the quality of the honey. Finally, the supers must be tied done

and have little to no risk of moving around to avoid any type of damage to the honey. Once the

honey has been processed and put into a jar it is able to be packaged up and put into a vehicle

and be taken away to be sold. The most delicate work needs to be done when the honey is freshly

taken from the hive.

Figure 4: An image of a honey super.

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Storage and Refrigeration Issues:

Storage issues for honey can begin with producers not using the proper sized jars for their

product which is stated by the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations and the Honey Regulations.

Honey can be kept at room temperature, so when being transported or even after purchase there

is no need for refrigeration of honey. Since honey does not need to be refrigerated this also

lowers transportation costs because there is no need for a truck that containers a cooling trailer, it

can be loaded in a regular trailer and maintain good quality. To help the honey, maintain its

quality one would also want to keep the honey out of direct sunlight and always ensure that the

lid is tightly sealed on the container that consists of honey.

Environmental Benefits:

The production of honey has a lot of benefits on the environment. The pollination that bees do is

essential for the environment to be sustained, without pollination the plants would die, therefore

producing no oxygen for the human population. Bees play a crucial role in the sustainability of

the environment, which is why the bees need to be taken care of when they are producing honey.

Bee colony numbers have been on a decline for many years now, it is important to try to

maintain these numbers and get them increasing again, because the earth needs pollination.

Overall, the production of honey helps the environment because while consumers are getting

honey, they environment is being pollinated.

Importing and Exporting Requirements:

In Canada and when exporting honey there are five main requirements that need to be met for the

product to be shipped anywhere. These requirements include that the honey must be made in a

registered honey establishment that is recognized by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and
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that the honey meets the right grade or standard. To see the proper grading system, observe

appendix A and B. For the honey to be considered good enough to be shipped it must score at

least a 91 using the grading chart found in the appendix. The honey must also be placed in the

correctly sized container, as well as have the proper labelling on it. The labels must include

things such as; nutritional value, and potential food allergens so that consumer can be fully aware

of what they are consuming. Finally, the honey must be produced in an establishment that

follows all the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations (FDR) and the Honey Regulations. If these

steps are followed this ensures that the honey is of the highest quality possible and will pose no

threat to any consumers (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2014).

Regional and Global Competition:

Since other countries such as China, Turkey, and India produce a lot of honey as well, Canada

could see competition with them when it comes to exporting to the U.S.A. Canadas exporting

with the United States could also go down if the United States finds a way to continue to increase

their honey production. Many countries have the climate for honey production and have vast

amounts of bees ready to pollinate, which causes competition worldwide. As for the U.S.A. they

should be willing to take as much honey as possible if they know it could help them down the

road with things such as healthcare costs. If the United States see this opportunity it will open up

many trading opportunities for some of their biggest importing countries, Canada being one

them.

Trade Barriers:

To import a honey product into the United States the item must be registered with the Food and

Drug Administration (FDA). When importing honey, one would not have to claim their product,

but if the U.S.A. felt the need to check through things they would be allowed. Any type of food
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product being imported is subject to a search. If the product is registered wit FDA and the FDA

has a prior notice of the shipment going through to the United States, then there is no issue with

importation (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2017). This could become a big barrier if FDA

believes that something is wrong with honey or if they decide they do not want it imported into

their country. This could result in a loss of money for exporting nations such as Canada and

result in a loss of honey if they feel it is not good enough quality to be used.

Future Studies:

In the future people will be able to recognize the health benefits behind honey, and understand

that using honey for medicinal use can be just as good if not better than chemical medicine. It

has been found that honey contains anti-bacterial properties that comply with the healing of skin,

and this can be used in hospitals to lower overall costs for everyone. If people recognize this and

begin to use it more worldwide it would help to sustain the honey industry and help honey bees.

Studies need to be done to find better ways to help keep bees alive through harsh winters, this

will help ensure more sustainability as well. Other studies done on the honey could reveal more

health facts that have yet to be found, and the healthier features honey has, the better it will

continue to be, and the more people will begin to use it.
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Appendix A:

Chart showing the filtered style of honey and how they honey is graded based on its filtering

ability, retrieved directly from United States Department of Agriculture

Appendix B:

A chart showing how honey is graded based on its strained style, retrieved directly from United

States Department of Agriculture.

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