Small talk, small beeks, small honey prices

Just for you some unimportant info, but what I don't understand thoroughly..
At us as main honey which is at market and can't have enough as much as is need for it ( 99% export to western EU - as someone told me) - black locust/false acacia honey. This year start price at big ( barrels) is 3,7-3,8euros per kg. In neighbouring Serbia which isn't EU member ( we are EU member for someone who doesn't know) money which beeks receive is at start 4,5-4,7 euros per kg of same honey. Quality is as much the same.
So, what a heck. Being in EU is some disadvantage or I am stupid..
When I think, easier is to admitt..
I am stupid

You're certainly not stupid Goran!

Rumours I heard today, finally they should release results of some investigations about honey falsifiing ( EU level). Even the birds on the branches know what is happening.. I fear only they find one to sacrifice and move on..
If not so, maybe small beeks can breed after period of honey price suppression - real honey not some mumbo jumbo..
Still didn't sold the honey.

Just to show what they want to pay only 2,7-3,28 Euros per kg. 1st class Black locust honey, honeydew ( which occur each seventh year in abundance enough to extract), and pollen rich spring multifloral honey from forest..

Bubbles in black locust are due to that I pour it in a jar right before taking a pic..

Goran said:

Just to show what they want to pay only 2,7-3,28 Euros per kg. 1st class Black locust honey

Click to expand...

But the buyers need to make a small profit, some retail prices are quite high though, even with delivery.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1519...ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80

Small profit

Pic of a black locust in a link.. Too yellow for black locust at my place it has to be more transparent for 1st class..

Hivemaker. said:

But the buyers need to make a small profit, some retail prices are quite high though, even with delivery.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1519...ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80

Click to expand...

Blimey .. same bloke is selling Raw English Heather Honey for £28 a kilo in 240gm jars with £4.80 postage on top .... Mind you - he's only sold 6 jars so far !

Hivemaker. said:

But the buyers need to make a small profit, some retail prices are quite high though, even with delivery.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1519...ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80

Click to expand...

They are probably right on the mark pricewise!

Sit down and do the maths... base it on 100 colonies and take into account the set up costs with depreciation at the tax write of using HMIR tables and fuel allowances..... pay yourself basic wage .... and add in extraction costs ( and cost of equipment etc etc)

I think most beekeepers would be better off running a dairy herd... then at least you would only be loosing a few pence for every liter of milk you give to Tesco!

Yeghes da

icanhopit said:

They are probably right on the mark pricewise!

Sit down and do the maths... base it on 100 colonies and take into account the set up costs with depreciation at the tax write of using HMIR tables and fuel allowances..... pay yourself basic wage .... and add in extraction costs ( and cost of equipment etc etc)

I think most beekeepers would be better off running a dairy herd... then at least you would only be loosing a few pence for every liter of milk you give to Tesco!

Yeghes da

Click to expand...

Yes ... but the problem is that getting passing trade customers to pay those prices without wincing when Supermarkets such as Waitrose are selling a whole variety of honeys between 66p and £1.52p per 100gm (only the 'specialist' honey's such as those containing or claiming to be Manuka go over these levels) is really difficult.

I get around £1.25/100gm for mine and it seems to be the glass ceiling in my area - the 'going rate' for local honey appears to be about 99p/100gm around here - so I get a bit more - but I do have a few customers who know their honey and those are the ones you need to find if you are going to get a premium price for your produce.

We have no problem getting £4.70 for 227g... properly packaged and professionally labeled!
But then it is probably the best honey in Cornwall and West country!

Sadly I still see honey badly presented in a variety of pre owned 1lb jars with hand scribbled labels offered for sale at a couple of quid for a jar... half crystallised with nice layer of dust on the lid... obviously been on sale for quite some time!

Remember supermarkets sell bottled water for similar prices to jars of honey.........

Yeghes da

pargyle said:

Yes ... but the problem is that getting passing trade customers to pay those prices without wincing when Supermarkets such as Waitrose are selling a whole variety of honeys between 66p and £1.52p per 100gm (only the 'specialist' honey's such as those containing or claiming to be Manuka go over these levels) is really difficult.

I get around £1.25/100gm for mine and it seems to be the glass ceiling in my area - the 'going rate' for local honey appears to be about 99p/100gm around here - so I get a bit more - but I do have a few customers who know their honey and those are the ones you need to find if you are going to get a premium price for your produce.

Click to expand...

I could stand on Pump Corner and give away fivers... as a friend of mine used to say when I ran a business in Dorking

I see where Finman gets his impression that all UK beekeepers are tweed wearing retired two hive owners!!

Perhaps he is not so far off the mark!

Yeghes da

icanhopit said:

We have no problem getting £4.70 for 227g... properly packaged and professionally labeled! .....

.....Remember supermarkets sell bottled water for similar prices to jars of honey.........

Click to expand...

Mine sells for £5/8oz jar. Nicely labelled. Mostly to friends and neighbours who probably pass it on to other people because they buy far more than they could reasonably eat.

icanhopit said:

I see where Finman gets his impression that all UK beekeepers are tweed wearing retired two hive owners!!

Click to expand...

I've got more than two hives, and wouldn't it be nice to retire!! Tweed, however, is warm and weatherproof. Lasts ages too.

icanhopit said:

We have no problem getting £4.70 for 227g... properly packaged and professionally labeled!
But then it is probably the best honey in Cornwall and West country!

Sadly I still see honey badly presented in a variety of pre owned 1lb jars with hand scribbled labels offered for sale at a couple of quid for a jar... half crystallised with nice layer of dust on the lid... obviously been on sale for quite some time!

Remember supermarkets sell bottled water for similar prices to jars of honey.........

Yeghes da

Click to expand...

Yep .. Properly packaged in Pattesons octagonal jars with a nice glossy label ... but, there's at least 200 beekeepers within a radius of 10 miles from where I live and more supermarkets and farm shops than you can shake a stick at .. nearly all selling at lower prices than I do.

I sell to people who are looking for raw local honey .. but, as a salesman of one sort of another for most of my life, I recognise body language and face to face sales tell you an awful lot about your customers and what they are expecting... The Price/Product/Packaging profile is what leads to purchase - get them all right and you will have a customer for life - get one wrong and you've lost them...and possibly everyone else they know.

I bow to your ability to get more for your honey - but I wonder how you would fare selling at your higher prices on the Costa del Fareham.

icanhopit said:

I

I see where Finman gets his impression that all UK beekeepers are tweed wearing retired two hive owners!!

a

Click to expand...

Where I get?

I put into google "UK beekeeper impression"

.

I try not to smile... Some of these guys have written to me, that honey yield is not so important in beehives.

But behind the corner same guys want to get best prices from their honey yield?

I sell 20% under supermarket price. If I try best price, delivery costs and time spending are huge.

Many buy 30-50 kg at once, and they are good customers.
.

Finman said:

Where I get?
I put into google "UK beekeeper impression"

Click to expand...

Spacemen.

Finman said:

.
Some of these guys have written to me, that honey yield is not so important in beehives.
But behind the corner same guys want to get best prices from their honey yield?
.

Click to expand...

LOL...there are a lot of them sort around.

I bow to your ability to get more for your honey - but I wonder how you would fare selling at your higher prices on the Costa del Fareham.

Mooring fees ( in the GreatgreygreenslimeyTamarriverallsetaboutwithsecondhomes) for a Hurley 22 are almost half the cost of the same in your Costa del Fareham vicinity... so why you can not get more for you honey baffles me.

Salmon's bum at 80 fathoms?

JMB will explain no doubt!!!

Mytten da

EU Croatia 2,7-3,28 Euros
EU Danmark 3,5 Euros
non EU Norway 10 Euros

In Norway beeks are protected from unfair competition of low and doubtful quality, low price imports.
We other as EU members are blessed to compete with imports which cost 1,2-1,5 euros and are called honey.. So I believe prices of our honey will go further down.
And again ..

Goran said:

EU Croatia 2,7-3,28 Euros
EU Danmark 3,5 Euros
non EU Norway 10 Euros

In Norway beeks are protected from unfair competition of low and doubtful quality, low price imports.
We other as EU members are blessed to compete with imports which cost 1,2-1,5 euros and are called honey.. So I believe prices of our honey will go further down.
And again ..

Click to expand...

What peeves me is the way that even some of the UK supermarket honey suppliers are marketing their product as being a product of the UK... or EU, with National TV advertising depicting quaint images of white besuited beekeepers tottering about with smokers belching.....
when their product label states ..honey product of the EU and NON EU countries!

China controls the honey market worldwide ( except in Norway!!) market forces will allow it to be dumped into Europe... as with many other commodities... tea was expensive until India and Kenya got their hands on the plants.......

Around £5 for 227g 8 oz (1/2 lb) seems to be reasonable for Locally produced honey.

Yeghes da

icanhopit said:

I bow to your ability to get more for your honey - but I wonder how you would fare selling at your higher prices on the Costa del Fareham.

Mooring fees ( in the GreatgreygreenslimeyTamarriverallsetaboutwithsecondhomes) for a Hurley 22 are almost half the cost of the same in your Costa del Fareham vicinity... so why you can not get more for you honey baffles me.

Click to expand...

Yes ...it's a wealthy area .. property prices here are about as high as you can get outside of London and the Home Counties but .. there are 10O members in Fareham & District BKA and that's probably half the actual number of beekeepers within a few miles radius .. all of them trying to sell their 'Local Honey' - often at a lower price than I achieve for mine. Getting people to put their prices up is difficult .. most are hobbyists and just want to see their surplus sold. The people with more hives sell to local farm shops and at a price that allows them to sell for the same sort of prices as I sell for ... with the original beekeepers details on the label.

I make and sell my home made marmalade ... there is virtually no competition for this and people willingly pay a price that is well above the premium brands in the shops and come back for more. I get £1.50 a half dozen for my eggs produced by my backyard, free range, pampered hens - again, no questions about price as they really are very nice eggs.

But ... the laws of supply and demand are well documented and well understood ... good marketing, a quality product and discerning customers are part of the mix to achieve the highest price for your product - but the other factor is always going to be competition.