Honeybees fly in and out of a bee hive in Surrey, B.C. Beekeepers warn that tariffs risk closure of hives, which could affect the pollination of crops.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Beekeepers are appealing to the federal government for emergency financial help to support apiaries hit hard by U.S. tariffs on Canadian honey.
They have asked the minister responsible for managing emergencies and prairie economic development to step in to help bee colonies before the winter, warning that the closure of hives could harm not just honey producers but Canadian agriculture, as many farmers rely on honey bees to pollinate their crops.
Connie Phillips, executive director of the Canadian Beekeepers Federation, said in an interview that about 60 per cent of Canadian honey is exported to the United States, and the 50-per-cent tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in August has brought exports south of the border “screeching to a halt.”
Honey producers are just one industry dealing with the fallout from the trade war with the U.S., which has led to Canada imposing its own countertarriffs, including on U.S. honey.
She warned that some beekeepers, whose costs have more than doubled since 2016, are already losing money and the tariffs risk driving them out of business altogether.
Ms. Phillips said the tariffs on Canadian honey could have serious implications for agricultural sectors that rely on honey bees to pollinate their crops, including producers of blueberries in British Columbia and the Maritimes, and canola growers in the Prairies.
In a letter to Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Prairies Economic Development, the Beekeepers Federation appealed for an immediate interim payment to each bee colony to help keep them viable. It said it expected “sales to the United States to go to zero and stay there until the tariff comes off.”
The minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Jennica Klassen, spokesperson for federal Agriculture minister Heath MacDonald, said the government recognizes the challenges that Canadian farmers are facing as a result of the U.S. tariffs. It has announced $7.5-billion to support Canadian workers and businesses, in addition to nearly $25-billion of previous support.
Canada imposed a reciprocal 50 per cent tariff on U.S. honey starting Sept. 8, but that will not alleviate the impact on honey producers who rely on U.S. sales, the federation says.
Exports of honey to the U.S. from Canada were worth $30-million last year, according to Statistics Canada. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba produce about 80 per cent of Canada’s honey.
Ms. Phillips said the fall season is a crucial time for beekeepers, and the tariffs have hit “at a terrible time.” She said beekeepers are already selling honey at “below cost” and are facing big expenses to help their bees, who do not hibernate, survive the long winter. These include paying for syrup and mite treatments. Commercial apiaries are also paying to fly home temporary foreign workers who annually help harvest the honey crop.
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The federation said in its letter to the minister, that “the need for cash to prepare colonies for winter is immediate” warning that “bills are due now.”
Ms. Phillips said some beekeepers, whose margins have been hit by the low price of honey, were already thinking twice about staying in the industry when the tariffs hit.
A honey farmer and beekeeper works in one of his bee yards near Saskatoon in July. Fruit growers fear that if more apiaries close, it could harm their crops.Liam Richards/JOBFlocks
Fruit growers fear that if more apiaries close, it could harm their crops, including apples, plums, cherries and berries, which use honey bees as pollinators. Well-pollinated crops produce more fruit, and honey bees can increase production by two to eight times according to the Canadian Honey Council. In the Prairies, honey bees help the production of hybrid canola seed, a high-performance crop seed created by cross-pollinating two distinct lines of canola plants.
In B.C. and Atlantic Canada, honey bee hives are moved onto blueberry fields to pollinate flowers in the spring.
Jason Smith, owner and operator of Fraser Berry Farms in B.C., said if hives close it could hit the province’s blueberry industry hard.
“Our production and sustainability is directly tied to the honey bee keepers that work with our industry for pollination services,” he said.
“These guys are barely holding on, and not being able to sell their honey is going to be devastating for them as well as having serious consequences for blueberry production in B.C. If we start losing these guys because they can’t sell honey, we are in serious trouble.”
Peter Awram, chief executive of Worker Bee Honey Co., which has 5,000 hives in B.C. and Alberta, said pollinated blueberries tend to be bigger. His company is paid to bring bees to blueberry patches in April and May each year.
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But he predicted the imposition of tariffs would drive more beekeepers out of the industry, or persuade veteran beekeepers to retire early.
“Beekeepers in Canada have been having a very hard time the last few years,” he said. “If these tariffs hang around for very long, it is likely more beekeepers will be quitting. We have seen a number of commercial enterprises go down.”
Bryan Ash, president of Ash Apiaries, which has 14,000 hives in Manitoba, moves about 4,000 hives to the Okanagan valley each year to pollinate apples and cherries. In the late spring, the bees are moved back to Manitoba where they pollinate canola, clover, alfalfa and wildflowers.
Mr. Ash said his company usually sells about 30 per cent of its honey to the U.S. He said he will now have to stockpile honey unless Canadian consumers and commercial companies, including cereal producers and manufacturers of dips and dressings, step up and buy more honey from Canadian producers.
“It costs money to keep hives alive. Bees are like little babies with their mouths open all the time,” he said. “They are very high maintenance.”