Argentina is one of the main world-wide exporter and producer of honey. At the moment it occupies the second position as exporting country and in the history it occupies for the first time the second place as producer of honey. Near 50% of the total of the Argentina´s exports of honey have Germany as destiny and almost the 80 per cent of the exports of Argentina´s honey have as destiny the European countries.
Argentina is one of the countries with major growth production. Its honey is of an excellent quality: optimal organoleptical characteristics, low levels of HMF and acidity, and predominantly a clear coloration in the honey. It has possibilities of product differentiation between botanical and geographic origin and a potential to produce organic honey. The honey production is widely spread in our country and takes in each region differents characteristic fundamentally due to weather and flora variations. These variations determine different times from harvest, volumes of production, characteristics and quality of the honey.
Private and public's efforts exist to increase the competitiveness of the apicultural sector. In order to identify the origin of the honey, Argentina implemented a system of traceability based on Rooms of Extraction registered by the Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (SENASA). The identification of the room of extraction must consist in all the drums that are destined to the export. Also, the rooms of extraction must compliment registries that support the system operation. The Registro Nacional de Productores Apícolas (RENAPA) is a useful tool for the identification of the apicultural actors.
Oriented actions also exist to certify quality of product which are based on the Good Practices of Manufacture reunited in protocols of Quality that assure the integral process of honey and other products of the beehive. Argentina has HIGHLY competitive advantages in the costs of the materials and manual labor. In agricultural zones, worked at the moment, the stock of beehives could be duplicated and the activity can be constant extended towards other zones. The main producing provinces are placed in the Humid Pampas region (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Entre Ríos and La Pampa). It is supposed that there are more than 4.000.000 beehives in the country (3.200.000 beehives according to a provisory data of the RENAPA, 2004 March).
International context There exists a world demand of increasing honey: the product is associate to "a healthy and natural" image in replacement of other natural or artificial sweeters. In the last decade the world-wide production grew a 30 per cent (the world-wide production in 1991 was of 961,000 tons and in 2003 of 1.250.000 ton), whereas the increase in Argentina were of 70%. Argentina commercializes near 20% of the world-wide market (which is nearly the 4000,000 ton), an average of 80.000 ton. In 2003 72,000 ton were exported with a value of 159 million of dollars in exportation, a record for the country. 98% of the exported are in bulk and only a 2% can be divided.
Honey in Argentina has a high penetration in the main consumers markets (countries of the European Union, Japan and the United States), markets with high exigencies of quality.
Characteristics of the supply
The supply of honey is much atomized: a little percentage of the beekeepers has more than 500 beehives. Near 30,000 producers exist and the productivity shows a maintained increase.
The productivity level changes: the yield average goes up to around the 30 to 40 kg/beehives/year, reaching in some regions productions of about 70 kg/beehives/year, depending on the variables.
Argentine exports in 2004
Of January to December the Argentina's honey exportation were located in 64.000 ton, by a value of u$s 123 million (SAGPyA source, provisory data). Price average F.O.B. has been located in 1,92 u$s/kg. Almost 1,4 million of dollar has been commercialized in divided honey. Germany continues being the main destiny of the Argentina honey. The honey had 30 destinies in 2004, Germany, Italy (12% of the total of exportation), Spain (9%), England (6,5%) were de main countries. A great presence of new markets exists that are still much atomized in volumes.
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