CBI Product Factsheet: Monofloral Honey in the UK CBI | Market Intelligence Product Factsheet Cloves in Germany | 1 Introduction Monofloral honey is very popular in the United Kingdom (UK), since consumers like to diversify their honey consumption. This provides great opportunities for exporters in developing countries to add value to their product. Of course, labelling your honey as ‘monofloral’ requires specific production methods and appropriate validation. Product description Monofloral honey refers to honey made from nectar collected from one particular flower variety. This, however, does not mean that such honey does not contain elements from other floral varieties. Monofloral honey might contain nectar of various other flowers, but the nectar from the main sources is dominant. Production of monofloral honey is only possible under the following two conditions: The target nectar origin must be dominant in the area. Bees must have few alternatives for nectar collection. Additionally, beekeepers must prepare the hives and colonies for collection of this nectar, including the removal of any other honey to avoid ‘contamination’ by other nectars. The beekeeper must coordinate the timing between the introduction of the beehive and the harvesting. They must coincide with the blooming period of the specific plant. This is possible through careful observation of the blooming period of the target nectar source and overlapping blooming periods of other nectar-producing plants. Monofloral honey is increasingly becoming popular in the UK, where consumers appreciate single-origin honeys such as Acacia honey. Acacia honey has a mild taste and light colour which matches general consumer preferences. Other varieties, such as Manuka and buckwheat honeys, are also very popular, offering great opportunities for developing country exports. Manuka honey is highly valued for its antibacterial properties, as has been substantiated by scientific research. Quality Monofloral honey must comply with the quality specifications as established in EU Directive 110/2001 and described in CBI’s Buyer requirements for honey. Particularly compliance with moisture content limits is a challenge. Beekeepers often have to harvest their monofloral honey crop before the bees start collecting nectar from other sources. This frequently results in the harvesting of unripe honey with a moisture content that exceeds 20%. In addition to compliance with the above-mentioned specifications, monofloral honeys need to comply with industry standards. However, industry standards are not available for all types of monofloral honeys. Moreover, they are not recognised as standards by all importers in the UK. Exporters must always verify with their buyers which specifications they require to ensure compliance. In order to determine the flower origin of a certain honey, the method of pollen analysis is frequently used by the honey industry, where the amount of pollen identified can determine whether a honey is of a certain origin. To help with this analysis, pollens are classified into three categories: Underrepresented pollen (with less than 20,000 pollen grains per 10 grams of honey) Normally represented pollen (with 20,000 - 100,000 pollen grains per 10 grams of honey) Overrepresented pollen (with more than 100,000 pollen grains per 10 grams). Following this classification, different levels of pollen need to be identified in a honey sample in order for the honey to be called monofloral: Underrepresented pollen (e.g. coffee) must constitute more than 20% of the total pollen content Normally represented pollen (e.g. clover) must constitute more than 45% of the total pollen content Overrepresented pollen (e.g. rapeseed) must constitute more than 70% of the total pollen content. Other methods to identify the origin of a honey include measurement of: colour, conductivity and sugar spectrums. Labelling Labels of monofloral honey exported to the United Kingdom (UK) must include the following information: • The common name or the botanical name of the floral source of the honey must be in close proximity to the word "honey" Name of the exporter Gross and net weight Date of minimum durability – ‘best before’ Any special conditions for keeping or use CBI | Market Intelligence Product Factsheet Monofloral Honey UK | 2 The name and address of the manufacturer, packager or importer established in the EU Country of origin or provenance Lot marking with the marking preceded by the letter “L” Drum number (if exported in bulk) Packaging Honey which is imported to Germany and is intended for industrial use is transported in bulk. Common packaging consists of steel or plastic drums of 200 litres. The drums must be painted on the outside and lined on the inside. Depending on buyer preferences, you can use beeswax or plastic bags (e.g. polyethylene) for lining. German buyers strongly prefer steel drums over plastic drums because of handling and quality. Due to the weight of honey, plastic drums may collapse when stacked. In practice, this also means that storage of plastic drums requires more space. Moreover, importers’ equipment is not always suitable for plastic, which may break as it is less durable. Plastic is also more permeable, which means that honey is more easily contaminated by, for example, materials/liquids on the floor. Tip: Make sure you have detailed packaging instructions from your buyer, as their preferences may differ from your standard packaging. What is the demand for monofloral honey in the UK? Since quantitative data for monofloral honey are not available, data on the overall UK honey market as presented below will be complemented by a qualitative analysis of the UK monofloral honey market. Figure 1: Main suppliers of natural honey to the UK, 2010- Figure 2: Main destinations of UK honey, 2010-2014, volume 2014, volume in 1,000 tonnes in tonnes 45 3.000 40 2.500 35 Belgium Netherlands 30 New Zealand 2.000 Nigeria 25 Brazil France 1.500 Mexico China 20 China Ireland 15 1.000 Other DCs Other DCs 10 Other non-DCs 500 Other non-DCs 5 0 0 2010 2012 2014 2010 2012 2014 Source: Eurostat, 2015 Source: Eurostat, 2015 Increasing importance of developing country suppliers: During 2010 and 2014, honey imports destined for the UK market increased by 5% annually, amounting to 38,000 tonnes in 2014 (€96 million). Over the past years, the largest supplier of honey to the UK has been China, representing a share of 61% (in terms of volume) of total honey imports. China can supply steady quantities of honey at a low price. Moreover, China is an important supplier of monofloral honeys such as acacia and rape seed honey. Eastern European countries such as Romania and Hungary are also major suppliers of acacia honey. The decrease in UK honey production has resulted in increased opportunities for developing country honey exporters. In fact, in terms of volume, imports from developing countries have been growing by 9% annually. Besides China, other important developing country suppliers include Mexico (8% share of total imports) and Brazil (4% of total imports). Mexico is a source of high quality polyfloral honey, but also of several monofloral honeys, such as orange blossom. New Zealand is also a major supplier of monofloral honey (mainly Manuka honey), which is highly appreciated in the UK. The bulk of the CBI | Market Intelligence Product Factsheet Monofloral Honey UK | 3 honey imported from New Zealand is estimated to comprise Manuka honey, which amounted to 1.6 thousand tonnes in 2014. Tip: Avoid direct competition on price with Chinese suppliers by distinguishing your product in terms of quality or distinguishing your company. Considerable fluctuation of exports: During the same period, UK honey exports fluctuated significantly, amounting to more than 2,000 tonnes (€16 million) in 2014. After an increase in exports between 2010 and 2012, UK honey exports fell during 2012 and 2014. However, it is interesting to note that in terms of value, exports did not demonstrate a decrease of similar level, indicating an increase in the export price of honey. Although the main destinations of UK exports are other EU markets, a considerable volume of honey is destined for developing countries such as China (19% of total exports) and Nigeria (11% of total exports). Since production data are not available for 2014, both production and consumption were calculated for the years 2009, 2011 and 2013. Figure 3: Production of natural honey in UK, 2009-2013, Figure 4: Apparent consumption of natural honey in the UK, volume in 1,000 tonnes 2009-2013, volume in 1,000 tonnes 9 44 8 42 7 6 40 5 38 UK UK 4 3 36 2 34 1 0 32 2009 2011 2013 2009 2011 2013 Source: Eurostat (2015) Source FAOSTAT, Eurostat (2015) Stable honey production: After a significant decrease in honey produced by UK beekeepers between 2009 and 2011, honey production in the UK remained stable at 6,000 tonnes in 2013. The substantial drop was mainly attributed to the decrease in bee colonies, which has been partly caused by the chronic exposure of bees to agrochemicals. The efforts of UK beekeepers to enhance the health and wellbeing of bee colonies have contributed to a stabilisation of honey production in the UK. According to the British Beekeepers Association, in 2014, British beekeepers achieved a 28% increase in the yield per bee colony compared to 2013 (BBKA, 2014), which suggests a considerable increase in honey production per hive. In terms of monofloral production, the UK is a significant producer of heather honey, borage honey, rapeseed honey and apple blossom honey. Substantial increase in consumption: Honey consumption in the UK has been increasing continuously since 2009, amounting to more than 42 thousand tonnes in 2013. Since honey production has been decreasing, the consumers’ needs are covered by increased imports. Monofloral honeys account for an estimated share of 10-20% of the total UK honey market or 4,000-8,000 tonnes.